Brandy Oxigenado 37%, Diez Hermanos

Appearance

Deep amber with copper highlights.

Nose

Gently aromatic and fruity with notes of date, raisin, nuts and oak along with hints of spirit and Oloroso which are all very well integrated. Quite lively and fresh and not too heavily sherried.

Palate

Attractive and tangy with almond and hazelnut and dried fruits following through and just enough Oloroso and very little tannin. There is a hint of nutty caramel sweetness and a certain freshness. This is not an expensive brandy but it is well made with a long clean finish.
Comments

This brandy was produced by Diez Hermanos from the late XIX century and was a very popular brand, continuing through the Diez - Mérito era, but disappeared, like so many brands, as a victim of Rumasa takeovers, in 1981 in this case. At one time it was advertised using huge metallic letters fixed to the walls of the Alcázar in Jerez, unthinkable now, but in fairness the firm did spent a lot of money on the restoration of the Alcázar in 1926. From 1909 till the 1950s the label bore a certification by a doctor recommending the "coñac" as a tonic, a common practice in those days, but it would never be allowed these days. The label does not state whether the brandy is a Solera or Solera Reserva etc and it is probably a Solera, but a very good one, with some 30 years in bottle.

Price

38 euros for a litre bottle, La Tienda del Jerez

Bodegas: Fuentes Parrilla/Fuentes Repeto Hermanos

José de Fuentes Parrilla established his bodega in Jerez in 1871 and before long he had built a reputation for quality. The bodega was situated in Calle Méndez Núñez close to the railway station where he had a modern bottling line, being the first to export in bottle. There were connected buildings in the Calles Argüelles and Madre de Dios for cooperage etc, and another bodega in Calle Ramos. The adjacent offices were in a grand building on Calle Ferrocarril overlooking the station, and which is now in a very poor state of repair thanks to various failed projects for it. 

The old office building (fotojerezpatrimoniodestruido.blogspot)

José also owned vineyards which produced around 700 butts of wine, so he acted as a cosechero, almacenista and exporter, though his principal market was always Spain itself, where he held a royal warrant. Not only was he a producer of Sherry, but he also dealt in wines from Málaga, Madeira, Oporto, Alicante and Valdepeñas, as well as producing a range of “grande fine champagne” brandies, Uno, Dos and Tres Brillantes. Always innovating, he even produced an Espumoso, a sparkling Manzanilla.

When José died in 1890 his widow, Mercedes Repeto Tobar continued with the business, now renamed Viuda de Fuentes Parrilla, assisted by her two sons, José and Julio de Fuentes Repeto who had been brought up in it. The business maintained its reputation until Mercedes decided to retire and in 1898 sold the bodegas, stocks and brands to Díez Hermanos .

Sparkling Manzanilla (foto:etiquetasrafamontano)

The Fuentes Parrilla brands included Espumoso, the Brillantes brandies, Anis Seco and Moscatel Predilecto de Damas (bodegas have always assumed that women only like sweet wine for some reason).

(foto:gentedejerez)

A year later Mercedes’ sons set up their own bodega, Fuentes Repeto Hermanos, in Calle Ferrocarril which produced some outstanding wines. There is a story that they were opposed to entering wines in competitions, but a customer in Cataluña entered their cheaper range in a local competition and they all won gold medals.  However despite their expertise, ample capital and soleras dating from 1750, the firm only lasted till 1906.

Bodegas: Ysasi y Cia.

The name Ysasi originates in the north of Spain, in Vizcaya, the Basque country. The Y and the I are interchangeable, and confusingly you see both spellings on labels (as below).

Gregorio de Ysasi y Tricio was a bodeguero in Jerez, known for good Finos and Amontillados. He married Juana de Dios Lacoste y Biñalet (1792-1888) and they had 22 children. Manuel de Ysasi y Lacoste (1810-1854) was the elder of them. In 1850 he went to London to try and sell the family wines, and was named honorary Spanish Consul. His claim to fame is that he was instrumental in the establishment of the Universal Postal Union. He travelled a lot, but was drowned after giving a woman his lifebelt in a shipwreck.

Another son, Luis de Ysasi Lacoste, became a successful businessman and philanthropist. On his death in 1902, he left the Finca El Retiro to the citizens of Jerez to be used as a park with a library.

By the mid 1850’s Ysasi had a fine reputation but their fortunes were on the wane and the business had eventually to be sold. Some soleras were acquired from Enrique Ysasi by Wisdom & Warter in the mid-1850s and others by Diez Hermanos, established later in 1876, such as the Oloroso Victoria Regina, both of the latter firms were therefore established on XVIII C soleras.

The bodega was visited by Henry Vizetely in about 1875, and he commented “To reach Señor Ysasi’s bodegas one has to pass through some of the more curious among the old streets of Jerez, where elaborate escutcheons figure above the ornamental doorways of the principal houses, and stone pillars with richly carved capitals decorate many of their corners. The Ysasi bodegas, being somewhat old-fashioned, are in keeping with these picturesque surroundings, and Señor Ysasi’s wines, notably his Finos and Amontillados, if not of a like remote antiquity, are thoroughly well matured and of high quality.”

Enrique Ysasi e Ivison (1899-1983) was the son of Enrique Ysasi Gonzalez and Petronila Ivison Pastor. He was a writer and photographer as well as a bodeguero, and known for his book “Con Una Copita de Jerez”, as well as being a director of Wisdom & Warter from the time of its purchase by Gonzalez Byass in 1929. He was also an enthusiastic promoter of the Jerez motor racing circuit.

(foto:archivo Jose Luis Jimenez)

A central street was named after Juana de Dios Lacoste in 1888 for her tireless charity work. In this street once stood the bodega of Parra Guerrero and the (in)famous Tabanco del Duque, now in ruins. There is a good bar/restaurant here called Taberna del Segura. A street was also named after Luis de Ysasi Lacoste, Juana' son, a street formerly named Baño Viejo.