Brandy Cien Lustros Solera Gran Reserva 40%, M Gil Luque

Appearance
Polished mahogany fading to amber with coppery highlights.
Nose
Very attractive; full, rich and forthcoming, fragrant and elegant. There are traces of dried fruit and Oloroso, vanilla, caramel, dates, orange peel, and furniture polish, all beautifully and subtly melded together so they are hard to separate out, and there is no astringent oak. It smells like holandas matured in Oloroso butts which over time have produced this lovely bouquet.
Palate
Plenty of flavour here with vanilla and caramel to the fore backed up by Oloroso and still no astringent wood, though the finish is dry. It is at once intense and refined with a delicate sweetness which seems natural, full at the start then opening out generously and lingering almost eternally.
Comments

A lustro is a period of five years, so I imagine a hundred of them implies great age, taking one back to the dawn of brandy and hopefully giving one the inspiration to buy it. This brandy is by no means that old obviously, but it has a respectable minimum 20 years solera age. It used to belong to Manuel Gil Luque who had, in 1912 bought out the old Jerez firm of Fernando Carrasco Sagastizabal. He in turn was bought out by La Guita in 1984, and they were bought out by current owner Grupo Estévez in 2007. So it is an old solera. Confusingly however, the presentation of this brandy is remarkably similar, apart from a bit of string round the neck -and the wording of course - to that of the Marqués del Real Tesoro SGR which is different. Also there used to be another brandy of the same name, from the now disappeared Bodegas Sánchez de Alva. Whatever. This is a lovely brandy.

Price

36.50, Licores Corredera

Brandy Solera Gran Reserva 38% Marqués del Real Tesoro

Appearance
Mid depth antique polished chestnut to amber with a trace of green at the rim and amber highlights.
Nose
Refined and elegant with beautifully assimilated aromas, or rather nuances, of toasted almond, Sherry, oak, vanilla, cinnamon and orange peel. All these have melded seamlessly over 20 years into a complex and beautiful bouquet which is still very much Jerez in character.
Palate
Clean and dry with  a fair impact up front, then it opens out and mellows into that delicious complexity above and there are also traces of dried fruit, nuts and fine Sherry. It has terrific length and is so good that it should be enjoyed on its own, slowly, with a good book.
Comments

Lieutenant-general of the Spanish navy, Joaquín Manuel de Villena Guadalfajara was ennobled as Marqués del Real Tesoro by King Carlos III in 1760 for using his own silver for making cannonballs to fight off pirates at sea and defend the King's treasure. His grandson founded the bodega in 1897 having bought the soleras of the Conde de Villacreces and it has long had a fine reputation for its Sherries and Brandies. The firm was bought by Jose Estevez in the 1980s. This excellent Solera Gran Reserva comes from a solera established in 1897 and it is a blend of carefully selected holandas distilled in pot stills and aged for at least 20 years in butts seasoned with Amontillado.

Price
32,50, Licores Corredera

Brandy Maximum 40%, Marqués del Real Tesoro

Appearance

Bright amber tinged gold with golden highlights.

Nose

There is a certain resemblance to Cognac rather than the usual Jerez brandy with its powerful wood and Oloroso/PX character. This is much more subtle and elegant with only gentle background hints of Oloroso butts though there is a slight wood note. Hints of dried fruits like apricot meld with faint traces of honey and blonde tobacco.

Palate

Smooth and mildly fruity with just a hint of sweetness and no discernible tannin. It is like brandy in its natural state without the traditional confections so you can taste the spirit itself and what it is made from, and it is good. It has poise, elegance and charm with a gentle texture and terrific length.

Comments

Marqués del Real Tesoro is part of Grupo Estévez who have been commendably using only their own Palomino grapes for distillation, both for fortification spirit and for brandy, and this is the first brandy release. The firm is one of the biggest vineyard owners and has put increased emphasis on the origins of their products and are aiming for 100% Jerez. Far from being made from lesser grapes, the brandy is made from high quality, low yielding ones, and it takes 5 kilos to make 1 litre. A higher than average proportion of pot still holandas is used and the spirit is aged in ex Oloroso butts for 3 years. In fact it is from the 2014 vintage. The emphasis here is on style and origin, not on tradition or age. No sweetening has been added and no mention of age appears on the label. It is aimed not only at traditional brandy drinkers but also the new, younger drinkers. The quality is extremely high and it is different with its own unique style. Superb.

Price

39.95 per 50cl bottle De Albariza

1.12.17 Official Launch of Maximum Brandy; Albarizas Coop 40th Anniversary

Grupo Estévez has celebrated the official launch of its new Maximum Brandy 100% Jerez. For some years the firm has been keen that both fortifying spirit and brandy should come from Jerez rather than La Mancha, and this new brandy comes from their own 800 hectares of vineyards and is 100% Palomino. The idea is to make a brandy which faithfully reflects the character of the vineyards of Jerez. It takes 5 kilos of grapes to make just one litre and the spirit, based on the 2014 vintage, is aged in butts seasoned with the company’s finest Oloroso. It is released under the brand Marqués del Real Tesoro and is available now in 50cl bottles.

Hot on the heels of the 50th anniversary of Covijerez comes the 40th anniversary of the cooperative in Trebujena known as Albarizas. This coop, founded in 1977, has some 220 members with a total of 710 hectares producing 2.1 million litres, and supplies grapes to Williams and Humbert among other bodegas. In celebration of the anniversary, and for the first time, they are bottling their own wine, a range of Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso, young white table wine and mosto. A despacho de vinos will open on 4^th December at the coop in the calle Jerez, Trebujena, for the sale of these wines. There is a total of 10,000 bottles.

(foto:cosasdecome)

Ojo de Gallo 2016 12%, Grupo Estévez

Appearance

Pale bright strawy gold with golden highlights.

Nose

Fresh, clean and very natural, honest, with traces of apples and minerals, it smells young, fresh, leafy and vital with a slight note of Fino, but it is fruitier and lighter.

Palate

Dry, clean, lean and minerally, it has a decent acidity and a slightly chalky feel and a certain crunchy character, and all these characteristics relate to the quality of the vineyard. It is light yet has lots of style and is brilliant with food. I can't wait to see what bottle age does to it.

Comments

This delicious wine is made from 100% Palomino grapes hand picked from 25 + year old organically grown vines in the company's 145 hectares in Macharnudo Alto, the best bit of the best pago in Jerez. (They own 256 hectares in the Pago Macharnudo as a whole). The wine is fermented in stainless steel using selected local yeasts and rested at low temperature for six months on its lees before bottling. After the successful sales and critical acclaim of the first release, the 2015, the 2016 is selling fast. This is one of the best examples around of a wine which faithfully reflects the character of the vineyard in which it was born, and shows just how important vineyards are. Grupo Estévez know this - they are the  biggest vineyard owner of all the bodegas with 800 hectares. Ojo de Gallo (Eye of the Cockerel) is the name of the parcel of vines the wine comes from.

Price

7.60 euros, Licores Corredera