This is a modest translation of an interview by
Cristina Cruz with the founder of the Guia Peñín, Spain’s leading wine guide, published
in andaluciainformacion.es on Friday.
We find him, caña (Sanlúcar venencia made from
cane) in hand, enjoying a glass of Manzanilla at Bodegas Argüeso. A journalist
by profession, he is making notes in his mobile about the differences between
the Sanlúcar venencia and that of Jerez.
How would you define
the situation of the wines of the Marco de Jerez?
It is one thing to talk about the Marco de
Jerez and another to talk about the wines of Jerez and Sanlúcar; Manzanilla
versus the wines of the big bodegas. There are situations and circumstances
which have been further defining themselves over the passage of time. Sanlúcar –
Manzanilla – is enjoying a boom, better sales because perhaps it is closer to
the taverns, to the new consumer, that occasional consumer who is becoming
interested in wines from small producers. What is happening with Manzanilla? It
is produced by small family bodegas but if we go to Jerez they are big
corporations, big bodegas and epic brands. I have proposed that they create a
separate, independent Denominación de
Origen because the wine and the business model are different. The climate is
different and so is the crianza and even the yeasts. I don’t know if this would
help the trade, perhaps it could be a subsector, and I believe the regulations
would allow that.
What about quality and
prices?
The quality of the average Sherry is far
superior to wines from the rest of Spain, but one negative aspect is the
ridiculously low price. This is because the Sherry trade has not done enough to
defend a quality product and it has not done enough to resist buyers, mostly
foreigners, dictating the price. When I go to the Marco de Jerez the impression
I get is that bodegas are stagnating. If you go to Rioja you will see investment in tasting
rooms and areas for wine tourism, but here such small profits don’t allow
investment or even repairs.
Should the strategy of
the bodegas in Sanlúcar be to modernise too?
I think it is still very difficult. The added
value which the bodegas of Sanlúcar have achieved is very small. They have
become dependent on the big firms which have bought at the price they wanted to
pay, leaving no margin to invest in image. It is regrettable that, of the
flagship wine producing areas of Spain, the poorest and the one with the most
unfortunate bodega scene, is Jerez and in particular Sanlúcar. This stems not
from neglect but from working in another way. Jerez and Sanlúcar owe their
survival to emotion, to a love of something. Producers here ask less of their
business than elsewhere. There is a certain magic, emotion, sensitivity which gives
bodegueros here the capacity to do other work, but without abandoning the
bodega. That wouldn’t happen elsewhere.
Are the low prices
only due to interference from foreign markets?
It has certainly been the case. While
Manzanilla has triumphed on the home market it has not done so abroad. This is because
the bodegas have not been able to organise good marketing abroad while here,
word of mouth has been effective, such that Manzanilla is no longer only
consumed in Andalucía but throughout Spain.
Do home consumers put
more value on the artisan product from these small bodegas?
To many of these occasional consumers, those
with the money, it doesn’t bother them too much to spend just a little more if
the product is good as they know it is an occasional purchase. The consumer is
feeling more confident. They don’t mind paying 3 euros more because it is
something different, albeit at a higher price.
Alongside prices, Sanlúcar
is immersed in another polemic, BIB. What is your opinion?
I am against the traditional aesthetic. I have
always defended the practical against the traditional. The BIB is much more hygienic.
I am writing an article on the subject and I have a BIB at home which has been
open for a month and a half. I have been checking and the wine is still the
same so it would seem to be about image. If the powers that be at the Consejo
Regulador and the big bodegas dislike the BIB it can’t be about hygiene so it
must be about image. But what is image? I believe that if a screwcap or a
synthetic cork can be used, why not the BIB which keeps wine even better? The
Consejo arguments are weak and are all about image. What image? Let’s give it a
try, let’s make the boxes better, prettier. People just want to stand still, keep
the status quo.
What are your
preferences among Sherries?
I have tasted excellent wines at tastings over
the last 30 years when there were bigger differences between them, but now
those differences are much smaller. As for types, I like a Palo Cortado – a real
one – an Oloroso which has a balance between oxidation and the flavours accrued
from time spent in wood, I like an Amontillado if the biological and oxidative
ageing have been well done and it is not too old. I love biological ageing.
In the Sherry tastings
you have recently done which wine stood out?
I loved La Kika, San León, Elías González,
which I didn’t know, and I very much like the Manzanillas pasadas, wines at the
limit of biological ageing which are mouthfilling and linger for ages on the
palate. It is all about more ageing, more flor and more rotation. I’m not
interested in a wine without biological character, the bitterness, the salty,
iodine sensation.
What do you think
about the table wines?
I’m very interested in the relationship between
the people and their vineyards, their wine and their work. Now I’m familiar
with Palomino table wines, wines of a given year sold young as opposed to a
wine for dynamic ageing in the solera system. What with the minerality of the
vineyards I think another grape variety would give better results for table
wines. For me Palomino is for crianza.
Which wines achieve
the highest points?
The highest are usually from Equipo Navazos. And
that idea might be the future for the wines of Sanlúcar: a realistic price
based on top quality. Although that would suppose a drop in sales volumes, higher
income would balance it out. Some bodegas are already selling at a higher price
and it works.
