Oloroso Señorita Irene 19%, Bodegas Yuste

Appearance
Deep walnut mahogany brown with amber rim and reddy-coppery highlights.
Nose

Full and deep, very salty and savoury, almost meaty with a faint trace of Marmite and pronounced notes of walnut and toffee. It is a little different with a style quite its own but you can see where it is heading as it gets older and more concentrated it will be very good. In fact it is pretty good already.
Palate

Quite big at the start but it softens, and opens out with a faint sweet caramel note of dried fruits which gives it quite an attractive softness yet the finish is dry. Actually it is fairly light mid palate but not at all short of flavour, and that slight sweetness gives an attractive tension with the saltiness. It is really well rounded and very smooth with a gentle texture and considerable length.
Comments

The Señorita Irene range could be described as the entry level range of the Yuste catalogue. This fairly young Oloroso comes from the solera which feeds the Aurora Oloroso solera and has an average age of around 8-10 yrs. It has all the hallmarks of Oloroso from Sanlúcar with its lighness and salty savoury character and is remarkably easy drinking being so very smooth. The range of wines from Yuste is of very high quality with some classics and some absolute treasures.

Price
6 euros ex bodega

Fino Alexandro 15% Bodegas Yuste

Appearance
Slightly brassy, strawy mid gold with golden highlights.
Nose

Some depth here with fairly intense notes of straw, minerals, a little flor bitterness, faint oxidation from bottle age and some hints of fallen leaves and wax. It smells very natural and very Fino.

Palate

Full and characterful, clean and tasty and better than I remember it - not there was anything wrong with it before. Some bottle age has made it slightly more serious and it is nicely balanced with a gentle bitter flor edge and a grassy strawy roundness with a long clean finish.

Comments

Alexandro was a good quality range of Sherries bottled by the "cooperative of cooperatives" in Jerez, Aecovi, which amalgamated four smaller ones in 1989. Unfortunately the crisis hit it hard and it went into receivership in March 2015. So I was surprised to come across this Fino bottled by Francisco Yuste in July 2016. The original was just over 3 years old and it now has a screwcap rather than the old stopper cork. The approximately 20 months in bottle have rounded it off nicely and added a little complexity, so it was a very good buy.

Price
7 euros Pura Cepa

Moscatel Pico Plata 15%, Bodegas Yuste

Appearance
Deep mahogany fading to amber with coppery highlights.
Nose
Fresh, fruity and juicy with pronounced raisin and date character along with gentle and very slightly floral notes of honey, citrus, tea, oxidation along with a faint trace of oak and some age.
Palate
Viscous and very sweet yet as is usual with Moscatel, there is a decent level of acidity to freshen it up. It has that lovely tangy, super ripe fruitiness and pulpy texture from the sun dried grapes and is quite full yet it has a light, clean non-cloying finish which lasts. Good.
Comments

The grapes for this classic, full Moscatel come from the home of Sherry Moscatel: the sandy coastal vineyards of Chipiona. They are sun dried for a week or so and the wine is partially fermented before fortification and ageing in solera. It should not be mistaken for a Malaga Moscatel of the same name made by Malaga Virgen which, while delicious, is a little younger and not solera aged. The name Pico Plata translates as "silver beak" and there is a South American bird of that name, but here it refers to the original source of the grapes: a pago a little east of Chipiona. The brand was originally owned by Florido Hermanos but made and bottled for them by Domecq. Then, it was sold at a greater age: añejo. Florido was taken over by Pedro Romero and when they went bust Francisco Yuste bought various wines and brands along with that of Pico Plata. Some original (now very, very old) wine is now in the hands of Ramiro Ibañez and Willy Pérez who are selling it under the revived brand M Antonio de la Riva which they bought from Beam, then owners of Domecq who owned it. Anyway, while this is not the original añejo wine, it is very good.

Price
14,20, Licores Corredera

Oloroso Aurora 17.5%, Bodegas Yuste

Appearance

Deep mahogany fading to amber with coppery highlights.

Nose

Attractive fresh Oloroso nose: intense walnuts in syrup, toasted almond and a hint of Oxford marmalade with an attractive savoury salted caramel edge, a turron yema tostada note and a refined trace of oak. There is a real charm to this wine.

Palate

Full bodied, firm and generous with a reasonably open texture and barely any troublesome tannin, well rounded and dry. It seems just a little more serious than the nose with a very slightly burnt, woody flavour amongst the nuts and hints of leather, but that charm comes through. Good.
Comments

The grapes for this wine come from the pago Balbaina, and once the wine's destiny has been decided it is fortified to 17% so that it will age oxidatively. It emerges from the solera with an average age of ten years. Having bought the famous Aurora Manzanilla solera from the bankrupt Pedro Romero, Yuste decided to produce a range of upmarket wines bearing that name. They are very good and the labels are lovely, and hopefully they will attract people to the wines.

Price
9.45 euros per 50cl bottle, Licores Corredera

Amontillado "Sin Prisa" 1/42 22%, Alexander Jules

Appearance

Fairly deep old patinated mahogany with copper glints fading through amber to a green tinged rim.

Nose

Forthcoming and super complex with all sorts of nuances. There are notes of oak butts, autumn leaves, toasted nuts and very Sanluqueño traces of seaweed and brine. As it opens out there is a hint of caramel which is checked by volatile acidity then more nuts come through, even walnut. There is a slightly lean edge which comes from age, but in all it is very fragrant.

Palate

Crisp and fairly powerful with an attractive very slightly bitter salty tang, again very Sanluqueño. For a wine of this age there is naturally a little tannin but it is remarkably un-aggressive. It has some slightly savoury flavours too and they mingle with those of the salted caramel and wood leaving a bone dry tangy wine of immense class which lingers on the palate forever.

Comments

This is something special. It comes from one bota punta in the 42 butt Conde de Aldama Amontillado solera bought by Francisco Yuste in 2001. There was more than one Amontillado solera, and it would be interesting to know which this one is, but it probably dates from the XVIII century. It is stored in Yuste's beautiful old bodega Los Ángeles in Sanlúcar. The Aldama soleras have changed hands more than once but have always remained in Sanlúcar and retained the style. "Sin Prisa" means without rush, and the same could be said for the Conde de Aldama and Francisco Yuste, neither being in any rush to sell this treasure, indeed Aldama sealed the soleras for years to keep any inferior wine out. Since then the solera has only ever been topped up to replace "merma" or evaporation loss and the wine has an average age of at least 70 years, probably more. Only 400 half bottles were filled in November 2016 with virtually no stabilisation whatsoever, and sealed with a Diam cork. Now there is a rush - to get hold of some of this rare nectar!
Price
70 euros per half bottle, Guerrita

Brandy Punto Azul Prestige Solera Gran Reserva 40%, Pedro Romero

Appearance

Deep, walnut/mahogany to amber with a trace of green at the rim, legs.

Nose

Powerful notes of wood, old barrels, leather and Oloroso with traces of vanilla, allspice, dried fruit - pasa - dried orange peel, toffee, toasted almond, just the complex array one would expect from such an old brandy. And it doesn't hold back.

Palate

A gentle sweetness greets the palate, fading slightly as the full force comes through. It is big concentrated and dry yet has remarkably little aggressiveness in the tannin. Oloroso, dried fruit and wood are the principal flavours, between which nestle subtle sweeter notes of fruit and caramel. It is a very serious brandy, and a little drop of water would be forgiven just to make it easier.

Comments

I was very lucky to get hold of this, as it is not only the original, bottled by Pedro Romero, but also about 26 euros cheaper than the current price for the brand which is now owned by Francisco Yuste. Even at 96 euros it is cheap for what it is.This legendary Sanlúcar brandy comes from soleras consisting of some 200 butts or more established at the end of the XIX century and located in their own bodega. The firm was one of the first to sell brandy in bottle in 1891. There were three small sacas of Prestige each year. The name Punto Azul or Blue Spot derives from the quality markings used on American oak staves imported from Costa Rica, in which the blue spot was the finest. There are two Punto Azul brandies: Prestige, with over 50 years solera age and Heritage, with over 80. Both were 100% holandas, 65% of which was distilled from Palomino wine. The butts were seasoned with Oloroso. Each bottle carries a card stamped with the bottle's number tied with gold string to the neck. In the days of the bodega's Club Punto Azul Heritage this number equated to a person's membership number. Among their benefits, members had access to some of the bodega's finest products - but in limited quantities.

Price

69.75 Roali, Mijas

Manzanilla Sacristía AB 15% Saca Diciembre 2015, Antonio Barbadillo Mateos

Appearance

Some depth of colour, bright brassy gold with golden glints, legs.

Nose

Considerable depth and complexity: humid salty seaside air, straw, dried flowers and scrub, lots of flor bitterness and a distinct note of cabezuela, the yeasty sludge at the bottom of the butt. There is a trace of ginger somewhere in the background adding an exotic note to this classic Sanlúcar wine.

Palate

Intense flavour backed up by good acidity really carries it across; there are buttery, nutty notes from the cabezuela and bitter ones from the flor, there is a trace of apple from very slight oxidation and while there is a humid feel, the overall effect is very dry. It is packed with flavour and very long.

Comments

This outstanding wine was selected and bottled en rama in December 2015 as the year's second saca, it bears the hallmarks of a long hot dry autumn. This Manzanilla is a Pasada, with probably at least ten years' age, yet this is not stated on the label. It now has 14 months in bottle to add further complexity, and comes from Francisco Yuste' bodegas which contain some superb Manzanilla. If Manzanilla is the "señorita del vino", then this señorita is very well endowed!

Price

15 euros per half bottle from Enoteca Museo del Vino, Mijas

Palo Cortado Conde de Aldama 21.5%, Bodegas Yuste

Appearance

Walnut through mahogany to amber with faint green tinge at the rim, legs.

Nose

Super fragrant with pronounced toasted hazelnut and almond aromas, a slight trace of oak and exotic woods with a gentle impression of sweetness balanced by a fresh almost crisp salty air. There is a distant trace of cinnamon too, which together with the exotic woods gives the wine a slightly spicy edge to match the hint of nutty sweetness. What a good start.

Palate

Equally complex and expansive on the palate it opens with lots of nuts and still has that impression of sweetness, yet it is dry with barely discernible notes of tannin and volatile acidity. This wine veers more to the Amontillado end of the Palo Cortado scale with its sheer elegance and hazelnut flavours, but there is an Oloroso-like generosity which is reined in. There are no rough edges in this beautifully poised old wine which lingers cleanly on the palate for ages, and it is quite delicious.

Comments

This is a very old and rare wine from an XVIII century solera of only 8 butts which once belonged to the Conde de Aldama in Sanlúcar. He was a very quality conscious man and had the solera sealed with plaster for 50 years to ensure no inferior wines from grafted vines went into it. This aged the wine considerably making it exceptionally fine. It is now stored in Yuste's bodega Los Angeles and the wine is released in very limited quantities. It is much older than a VORS but what with all the attendant hassle some bodegas don't bother applying, especially if quantities are so limited, and can easily sell the wine on its quality and the bodega's reputation. Besides VORS only guarantees a wine is a minimum average age of 30 years and there is no higher category for seriously old wines.

Price

75 euros per 50cl decanter from Er Guerrita

Manzanilla La Montería 15%, Bodegas Yuste

Appearance

Bright, fairly pale lemony strawy gold, light legs.

Nose

Quite attractive with distinct yeasty saline notes balanced with floral ones like camomile. There is still a trace of fruit which is slightly outweighed by seaside aromas, but it all comes together nicely.

Palate

Not short of flavour for its age, there are various touches of yeast, bitter almond and salinity which lasts for ages and offers a hint of floral complexity and an attractive zippy freshness (bottled April 2016). Good value for money.

Comments

This might be the youngest Manzanilla in the Yuste range at around 4 years old and behind Aurora and La Kika, but it has character. The name "Monteria" means "hunting" and it is just possible that the wine might originate from a solera of the same name which used to belong to the now lost bodega Manuel Garcia Monge, who latterly occupied the bodega now used by La Guita in Calle Misericordia. It used to be sold as a Manzanilla Pasada, but this wine is obviously younger, so maybe Yuste simply owns the brand name. Certainly the labels are completely different. I'll be looking into it. My bottle had a screw cap unlike the stopper cork illustrated, not that it matters.

Price
About 6 euros from Licores Corredera