Bodegas: La Bodeguita

Few Jerezanos are aware that there is a tiny bodega on the ground floor of Jerez city chambers. Now, it is all but forgotten, except for a few legends. It was the idea of Pedro Pacheco, the city’s longest serving mayor (1979-2003), as a feature of private visits, not long after the council moved from C/Madre de Dios to its present location of C/Consistorio. Until then some half a dozen butts of wine, donated to the council by various bodegas, had been stored in the basement of the historic building, which would be refurbished in 1991.

A year later, while an annexe was being refurbished, Pacheco decided to bring the wines up from the basement to a 120 metre space on the ground floor, and set up the collection of butts, now amounting to fifty-six and the majority being half-butts, in two groups stacked five high. There are also three quarter-butts, donated by Lustau, at the entrance, and another with a glass front for observing the flor.  Pacheco’s successor, Pilar Sánchez, began the tradition of giving a glass of Sherry to those who get married at the council.

For many years Pacheco counted on the help of the late Rafael García “Kubala” to maintain the good condition of the wines, a good few of which are very old. Once Pacheco was no longer mayor, he set up his own little bodega in the basement of his house. Meanwhile, as part of the “Tourism Excellence Plan” the bodega was occasionally opened to visitors, however in the following years it was hardly used at all. Now, under the mayorship of Mamén Sánchez, the question of what to do with the bodega is again on the table.

 In 2015, Manuel Lozano, Lustau’s oenologist, visited the bodega and agreed to recuperate it, which he felt could be done in a reasonably short space of time. He worked there three times before his untimely death. Since then, the council has been in discussion with five bodegas who would be interested in helping, and also supplying the necessary wine to top up the butts. Francisco Camas, councillor in charge of patrimony, culture and festivals, would like to see a visit to the bodega included in a tour of the council building, which would include the gallery of portraits of past mayors, the great hall, the patios, the loggia and the adjacent Antiguo Cabildo, the beautiful old council building of 1575 in the Plaza de la Asunción.

1.6.16 Vinoble Pays Tribute to Manuel Lozano; The Flor Show No.1

In “Manolo’s” honour, and in the presence of his wife and three children, the mayor of Jerez and other members of the council, not to mention as many members of the wine trade who could squeeze in, Grupo Caballero offered a tasting of all seven wines of the Lustau Almacenista range.

Sergio Martínez, a pupil of Manolo, led the tasting which was full of fond memories of him, his level of skill and professionalism and his great legacy to Sherry, to which he devoted his whole life. Caballero-Lustau’s communication director, Federico Sánchez Pece, and Manuel Arcila, now retired but who also worked all his life at Lustau, and Lustau director general, Luis Luengo, all extolled his virtues, not only as a true professional, but also as a fine human being.

Lustau themselves began as almacenistas, selling finished wines to the big bodegas for their soleras, but now they are buying almacenista wines - the difference is that they are bottling them as they are, with the name of the almacenista on the label. And they are about to launch a new one: a Palo Cortado from Cayetano del Pino, something to look out for.

Another fascinating tasting was “The Flor Show No.1: Jura comes to Jerez”, the brainchild of Jesús Barquín of Equipo Navazos and Juan Manuel Bellver, director of Lavinia España. They led the tasting accompanied by Laurent Courtial, a Jura winemaker. Ten wines, seven from the Jura, were shown, with two Sherries (Fino Antique, Fernando de Castilla and Tio Diego, Valdespino) and a Fino from Montilla. This tasting was the first of a series to be held in various cities such as London, Lyon, Málaga…

Wines produced by crianza biológica (flor) are mostly associated with the Marco de Jerez and Montilla-Moriles in Andalucía, but there is also an outpost of flor in France: the Jura. This tiny wine region to the east of Burgundy and north of Savoie produces various wines but the star is the Château-Chalon, made from Savagnin grapes and aged under flor, and often referred to as “Vin Jaune”- or “Golden Wine” as Louis Pasteur, who came from Jura put it. While there are similarities, there are also differences. Jura wine is sold by vintage and with more focus on the vineyard, unlike the solera system so widely employed in Jerez. In the end, both wines are absolutely fascinating, and congratulations to Jesús and Juan Manuel for coming up with this great idea.

An Interview with Manuel Lozano of Lustau

Juan P Simó talks to Lustau’s chief Oenologist in today's Diario de Jerez

Wine as it used to be. No noise, no fuss. He collected his seventh “Oscar” at the Park Lane Hilton hotel in London at midnight on Thursday in front of over a thousand world wine experts. Then he flew back to Jerez bearing his seventh consecutive World’s Best Fortified Winemaker award from the International Wine & Spirit Challenge. Manuel Lozano Salado (Jerez 1954) is calm, straightforward, serene, unchanging. He is not one for razzmatazz, just the day to day work in the bodega, as always. We are talking with a wine lover, mad about Sherry who has dedicated 40 years of his life to it.

Have you never changed?

I live in a regulated sort of way; I have the same friends as always, I buy the same medicine in the same pharmacy as always; I have a drink in the same bar as always however good it is, because life’s like that.

How did it all start?

I grew up in a restaurant environment. My parents had bars, restaurants, beaches, clay pigeon shooting and the Hotel Comercio in Calle Doña Blanca. Through all that I came into contact with the world of wine. I got to know all sorts of wines especially the “medio tapón” (younger Finos sold cheaply in bars). There was no television and the hours were short and in December there were the afternoon drinks, occasions where I learned a lot from comments at the bar or from the more knowledgeable people who worked in bodegas. Also my father had contacts with the wine salesmen who would sit down and discuss wines and prices.

And you paid attention?

I loved it but it wasn’t studied then. It was a case of mouth to mouth or visiting a bodega as a child and taking in the sights and sounds and slowly becoming a wine professional. There were no degrees and I had to do some training in Madrid going on to professional education. You came out as a technician in viticulture and oenology which later got me into a bodega.

Nobody mentored you, you had to be self-taught?

I had no mentor. My father, who knew various bodega representatives, used to take me to visit the bodegas. I was only ten but it was the only way to find out what one could never know.

What must the good oenologist know?

The oenologist must have an in depth knowledge of what is in the bodega. It is not just working with wine but managing a bodega. One has to enter the world of cost competitivity as wines of the same quality at a lower price give the bodega a better margin. The romance of the past has gone, what matters now is management and results.

Manuel and some of his awards (foto:Pascual/diariodejerez)

In Jerez we have always had very good oenologists.

José Ignacio Domecq, “La Nariz” (the “nose”), is a clear example. With him people could count on ways to study abroad and get a good training. Those who studied at his side like senior bodega foremen learned the day to day work and managed everything related to the business side of the wine. They were fine tasters classifying wine from butt to butt. There was the language of the chalk, marking each butt carefully and watching its evolution. It used to be done solely with the nose, a venencia and a glass.

You started from the bottom.

I started working my first vintages with González Byass. You need to do it that way, from the bottom.  Even just hosing the bodega has to be well done. Things were done traditionally then and you even had to know which wind was blowing so you could close the windows against the Levante and open them at night to let in the Poniente or the moisture, which would blow away the heat of the day.

And then you entered a bodega?

When I finished my studies I started in the laboratory at Fernando A deTerry. I worked there for 22 years. I began as an analyst of wine, brandy and vinegar. I started in 1983. Those were the years of merging of bodegas and companies after the collapse and expropriation of Rumasa. Terry went to Harveys where I continued in bodega production.

Are you one of those who think these prizes have less value here than in other countries?

I move around the world a lot and they have different values in different countries. In fact the oenologist goes out on the streets a lot to help the salesmen. That wasn’t done before, but it is now. He does tastings, food matching… Have you ever seen so many chefs on television? Before, we didn’t even know them, but it has worked, now people drink less but know more about wine.

But these things are not easy to achieve.

Absolutely. Five thousand fortified wines might enter the competition and be analysed and tasted by a jury of specialists who award marks. We can bring some 50 blends, usually not well known around here but certainly internationally. Since Lustau exports over 90% these things sell a lot of it. And if you go around doing tastings, explaining how the wine is made, you meet the customer who is going to drink it. This is added value which didn’t exist before.

I have read that you are optimistic for Sherry.

I love Sherry. It should be remembered that it was once the biggest selling wine in the world. It will come back. It has certainly gone through some bad times and the multinationals have done it no favours, but most bodegas are now back in family hands. I am optimistic, I see the bottle half full. I used to be worried about the average age of Sherry drinkers, but I am now seeing young people drinking it in tabancos with interest. A lot has changed and quickly.

But the majority of young people still drink long drinks.

That’s certainly true; I think we are lacking something here which is the culture of Sherry.

That has been a great mistake, to allow the loss of Sherry culture.

There are actually schools which visit bodegas who give them a glass of grape juice after they have seen what a butt is and the different types of Sherry. They are told that this is what once supported the economy of Jerez along with lots of related businesses like label printers, bottle makers and bottle cap makers, an enormous industry related to Sherry, but it has all gone.

We are hearing about new formulas to re-launch the wine. What do you think of 100% Jerez?

I think it is meaningless. The key to Sherry is the solera system and there the alcohol is mixed in over many years until a homogeneous wine of whatever type comes out. It can't be 100% Jerez. Maybe this idea comes from people who have more grapes than they need. And it is good marketing. The fortifying spirit is rectified to 96%/vol and about 18-20 litres of it goes into a butt containing about 500 litres to bring the wine up to 15%/vol, but it gives no noticeable organoleptic character whether the grapes were Airén or Palomino.

Another matter is Bag-in-Box (BIB)…

BIB is the same as wines sold in tetrabrik with lower quality and price, while wines with a bottle and cork are better quality at a higher price, they are not the same. And another thing: like it or not, the Cionsejo has its rules and we have to respect them. If you want to sell BIB then leave the Consejo. And it is not a substitute for the garrafa as the mayor of Sanlúcar says.

So the usual problems look like dragging on forever?

Sherry’s trajectory is still to be resolved. It sells for less than it is worth, it has a great capital value some of which evaporates because it must be in the solera for a minimum of 2 years. Also nobody knows how to sell it nor even lay the foundations to keep building. What wine with crianza bialogica can cost €5 in a supermarket? What do the label and bottle cost?

Or what does the time cost?

Nobody pays for that… but we need to know how to sell it. We have lost time messing about and not investing more so that Sherry is not seen as a wine past its sell-by date, a wine for old people. And why are we not investing more time and money in educating people about Sherry? People in shops don’t know the difference between a Palo Cortado and an Amontillado.

What is your favourite Sherry?

That depends on the circumstances and the moment, how it is served, what temperature and how well it has been looked after.

Excuse me, we’re suffering from the heat. Can you give us a full bodied wine - cold?

That’s not the usual way to serve it. Best to drink an Oloroso or Amontillado at the bodega temperature, 14-15 degrees.

Never cold despite the temperature?

When taken cold it concentrates the aromas but the colder it gets the less the aromas expand.

Something to eat alongside it? A tapa or something perhaps?

Here in Jerez it is neither the custom nor the tradition to serve a tapa with a drink, but if so, it is probably the bar trying to promote the tapas. However the glass should be appropriate-those new, more open ones which don’t concentrate the aromas but open them.

21.7.15 Junta Inspects BIB Bodegas; Manuel Lozano Does it Again;

The Food Quality Service of the Junta has made the first inspections at bodegas in Sanlúcar and Jerez which had been denounced by the Consejo and Fedejerez for selling wine in the illegal Bag-in-Box (BIB) format. Technical staff have taken samples of the wine in question and will analyse it at their laboratory to determine whether to proceed with administrative sanctions.

Apart from this possible infraction, the regulations state that it is illegal to fortify a wine from outside a Denominación de Origen (DO)which permits it, such as Jerez. The technical people have been checking the labelling of these products, which are forbidden to use terms protected by the DO such as Jerez, Sanlúcar, Fino, Manzanilla etc. and allusive terms such as Fina, en Rama etc. They are also checking whether the contents are stated on the packaging.

The inspections come barely a month after the Junta received complaints from the Consejo and Fedejerez about the proliferation of BIB. For their part the BIB producers have enlisted the support of the mayor of Sanlúcar and maintain that this format offers advantages of hygiene and transportability. Nonetheless, the Consejo has repeatedly refused to authorise it and it will remain illegal until they do.

Meanwhile the Junta’s Consumer Goods inspectors have launched a campaign to stop the use of BIB to refill empty Manzanilla bottles. This is also illegal but not uncommon in bars and restaurants.

Chief oenologist at Lustau, Manuel Lozano has been awarded the International Wine Challenge (IWC) title of Best Fortified Winemaker in the World for the seventh consecutive year. This has never happened before in the long history of the prestigious international competition. The grandeur of this honour contrasts with Manuel’s modesty as he considers it a “personal and professional satisfaction.”

In a press release Lustau underlined that his passion, dedication and lifetime’s experience dedicated to the wines of Jerez are reflected in the character and personality of some unique wines which won 45 medals, 10 of them Golds. The firm notes that the IWC is like the “Oscars” of the world of wine.

25.7.14 Another Prize for Lustau Oenologist; Vuelta de Espana Starts at Jerez

Lustau chief oenologist Manuel Lozano has been awarded the Premio Ciudad de Jerez (City of Jerez Prize) by the council. These are annual awards, and are given to citizens or local institutions for outstanding contributions to public life that year. Manuel Lozano has been awarded “Best Fortified Winemaker” for the last 6 consecutive years.

The Vuelta Ciclista a España (“Tour de Spain”) starts at Jerez in this year’s 69th race. The cycles will leave from the Plaza del Mamelon, where wine, horses, flamenco and cycles will emphasise the city’s year as European City of Wine. This is one of the big three European cycle races.

17.7.14 Lustau Oenologist Award; Balbaina Vineyard Walks; Tio Pepe Roundabout

Manuel Lozano has done it yet again! The Lustau oenologist is the winner of the International Wine Challenge best fortified wine maker for no less than the sixth consecutive year.

(Foto +Jerez)

The Historic Patrimony department of El Puerto de Santa Maria council has organised a walk through the rural roads and casas de viña (vineyard houses/presshouses) of the pago Balbaina at 8.00 pm on Friday. The walk of about 8 kilometres will show people their vineyards and their history. It will be repeated on the 22^nd of August. This would be a great tourist attraction.

Work has begun on the new Tio Pepe statue to be erected on a Jerez roundabout. Preliminary works such as cabling and signalling are underway, and the new statue should be in place soon.

29.5.14 London Sherry Dinner; Vinoble Results; Yet Another Medal for Lustau Oenologist

A gastronomic presentation with Sherry is to take place in London. The provincial government of Cadiz and Turismo Andaluz are behind the event which is timed to coincide with London Wine Week, and Jerez European City of Wine.

The idea is to promote Sherry and its suitability as a wine to accompany food. On Wednesday 5^th June, chef Mauro Barreiro will present a dinner marrying Sherry with Atun de Almadraba (net-caught Atlantic Bluefin tuna, among other delights, at the prestigious Hispania restaurant at Lombard St. in the City of London.

There will be a tasting led by Beltran Domecq beforehand, and there can be no doubt that the event will be well attended by press, somelliers, restaurateurs, wine trade etc. Details can be found on this website: www.sherryinstitute.co.uk

Vinoble 2014 has been judged a great success by the organisers. A staggering 150,000 glasses were used during the 3 day event. The city of Jerez also benefitted, as hotels were approaching capacity and restaurants did well. It was great to see a buzz going through town. 98% of the 200 exhibitors will be back, and the other 2% will probably be back. 8,000 professionals came through the gates of the Alcazar. After the disappointment of the event’s cancellation in 2012, such is now the enthusiasm that the organisers are beginning to think of holding some event in the odd years as well as the even. They will also start work on Vinoble 2016 a bit sooner.

One of the tasting spaces at Vinoble

 Lustau oenologist, Manuel Lozano, has received yet another honour. He was awarded the Gold Medal for Oenological Merit by the Spanish Federation of Oenologists’ Associations at their recent congress held in Jerez. He’ll be needing a longer mantelpiece!

Manuel Lozano at another award ceremony

22.7.13 Sherry Stock Situation; Lustau Win More Medals

Production in Jerez has swung from an alarming excess to an alarming shortage, aggravated by grubbing up and abandonment of vineyard and a very small 2012 harvest – one of the smallest in history. This could lead to supply shortages in the short to medium term.  The harvest for 2013, which is predicted to be 25% bigger or around 60 million kilos will only provide a short term relief.

This harvest should provide about 60,000 butts, but 80,000 are needed for estimated sales, leaving a deficit of 20,000, meaning that there could be shortages in about 3 years as stock works through the system. It is a major worry, and an analysis of the situation will shortly get underway to find ways to combat the situation.

It had been thought that that the supply and demand balance had been restored, but now it looks as though the grubbing-up was excessive. 10,000 hectares were reduced to 7,000 – almost one third of the vineyard was lost. This was not helped by the poor state of some vineyards caused by the poor economic situation of growers. Action is needed soon.

The vineyards need an integral plan and producers need to discuss the future. Even with the 500 hectares which are now back in the Denominacion de Origen after being used for trials of complementary products, it is estimated that if the next harvest is normal, there will be 75,000 butts, leaving a deficit against sales of 5,000. The cumulative effect over 2012,13 and 14 will therefore be 55,000 butts, or 27 and a half million litres. Meanwhile, bodega stocks have been reduced by 20% over the last three years, from over 400,000 at the end of 2011 to the 315,000 with which it is hoped to end this season.

All available information needs to be put on the table, particularly the state of the vineyards which are theoretically in production but which give low yields for lack of husbandry over recent years. They need to be recuperated, work which takes time and no small financial investment. The bodegas need to clarify their future requirements, in fact everyone in the trade needs to work together.

Lustau’s capataz, Manuel Lozano has won the International Wine Challenge “Best Winemaker” for a record fifth time. Lustau won 35 medals: 12 gold, 14 silver and 9 bronze. Manuel has been the Lustau enologist since 1999 and he looks after the vineyards as well as the 22,000 butts in his care, which he regards as his children. A modest man, he “wasn’t expecting this, as the standard improves every year”, and thanked his team at Grupo Caballero.

Manuel with judge Charles Metcalfe

News from Jerez 17.9.12

Manuel Lozano wins Best Fortified Wine Maker award - again

The International Wine Challenge in London has awarded the accolade to Lustau’s winemaking chief for a second time. He is responsible for all the Emilio Lustau wines and the ex Domecq wines such as La Ina and Rio Viejo. The award was presented at what is known as the wine “Oscars”, at which the wines themselves won 20 medals and 3 trophies.

Robert Parker has already awarded 90 points or more to 8 Lustau wines, 96 to the Palo Cortado Peninsula. Spain’s Guia Penin awarded 9 wines 90 points or more with La Ina and Papirusa getting 96 and 94 respectively. It is wonderful to see Jerez getting such recognition.

Rain arrives
After a drought ridden year, the rain has finally arrived to refill reservoirs and raise the water table. Up to 4 times the average monthly precipitation has fallen in 1 day, some 75l/m2 ! Andalucia is suffering torrential rainfall, which of course just runs over the parched land. What is really needed is lighter but sustained rain which will be more easily absorbed.