15.8.13 Harvest Festival in Puerto de Santa Maria

El Puerto de Santa Maria is celebrating the harvest with La Velada de los Milagros (Evening of Miracles - the Virgin of Miracles is the town's patron saint) from the 28^th August till the 1^st September in  the parking area on the left bank at the port. There will be 20 casetas (tented stands) offering a drink and a tapa, all local produce, at 3 euros (up from 2.50 last year), as well as fairground attractions, and the fair will be open from 13.30 till late. Live music will be available every day from orchestras and flamenco groups. After last year’s great success, the fair is being organised again by local authorities and companies, including Bodegas Real Tesoro and Osborne.

Fino Pavon 15%, Luis Caballero

Appearance
Fairly full bright strawy gold, light legs,
Nose
Quite big but soft and open, slight traces Marmite, yeast and Palomino fruit, more yeasty than saline, yet a trace of the sea, less "punzante" than some, but attractive.
Palate
Plenty Flor, lovely and fresh with a gentle touch of almondy bitterness and not a little body, quite generous in style, big soft and tasty with good length, very good.

Comments

A delicious glass of wine, classic Puerto de Santa Maria style, made using an unusual process which involves putting the finished wine into butts containing 100 litres of young wine with active flor before bottling. This is to ensure maximum freshness. Perfect with olives and ham, but which is difficult to restrict oneself to just one glass. (I failed). Not available in UK as far as I know, but should be.

The Sherry Towns : Puerto de Santa Maria

Port Saint Mary as the British used to call it is situated at the mouth of the river Guadalete, 10 km north of Cadiz across the bay. A little steamer still runs this route. At one time there was a service up to Jerez but the river silted up and it was suspended in the 1950s. The town has a population of about 88,000 and a considerable area of vineyard, as well as being surrounded by important conservation areas forming part of the Parque Nacional Bahia de Cadiz. There are some lovely beaches too.

The foundation of the town is attributed to a Greek general, Menesteo, who coming from the Trojan wars set up camp and called the place after himself. Certainly Greek artefacts have been found by archaeologists. The Phonecians and Romans were also here, and the Moors who arrived in the early VIII century called the place Alcante or Alcanatif - port of salt - in reference to previous industries. Here, the last Visigoth king Rodrigo was killed defending his kingdom against the Moors. When it was recaptured from the Moors by Alfonso X in the XIII century he renamed it Puerto de Santa Maria, then conceded it a charter allowing it the privilege of being "El" Puerto de Santa Maria. Later the Castillo San Marcos was built. It is a sort of fortified Church built on the demolished remains of a mosque, borrowing stone from a nearby Roman building.

Throughout the middle ages the town made its living from fishing, salt and wine. Local lords the Medinacelis financed the first voyage of Columbus, and later voyages sailed from El Puerto. Juan de la Cosa, a local cartographer who was a pilot for the Columbus ships made the first Mapa Mundi here in 1500. The discovery of the Americas brought much wealth what with all the traffic to and fro Las Indias. In the XIX century the town played unwilling host to Joseph Bonaparte and his army between 1801 and 1812. 


Famous citizens  - apart from Juan de la Cosa - have been mainly bullfighters, bodegueros and flamenco singers, but Rafael Alberti the poet was born here. The most interesting local festival is the Virgen del Carmen, patron saint of the town and of fishermen on 16th July. The fishermen carry an effigy of the virgen on a boat out to sea then parade her through the town. There is also the Feria de la Primavera, the spring festival in early May, during the four days of which staggering amounts of Sherry are drunk. Then there are bodegas, the most important of which are laid out below:


          Osborne                                  Gutierrez Colosia                         501 del Puerto
      Luis Caballero                          Fernando A de Terry                       Juan C Grant
         Obregon                                        J Ferris

Bodegas Osborne

                                                                Castillo de San Marcos

Bodegas: Gutierrez Colosia

This is one of the few remaining family bodegas and is beautifully positioned on the riverbank at the mouth of the river Guadalete at el Puerto de Santa Maria. It was built in 1837 and was previously used by Sancho Hermanos (Amontillado Quijote), Pedro Domecq and the 2nd Marques de Camillas (Vina del Pollero Alto), from whom it was bought in the early XX century by the current owner's grandfather Jose Gutierrez Dosal. He had founded a firm of almacenistas in the late XIX century.

He and his son supplied wine to the big bodegas while his grandson Juan Carlos Gutierrez Colosia studied, however Juan Carlos dropped out and ended up helping his father in the bodega where he learned and did everything. His father died in 1966 when Juan Carlos was only 20 and was forced to take on the considerable responsibility.

During the seemingly endless crisis that is Sherry, some of their main customers, Williams & Humbert, Osborne and Gonzalez Byass, no longer needed their wines, leaving Juan Carlos with two choices: close or bottle and sell on the open market. This meant buying expensive bottling equipment and going out selling. Luckily he believed strongly in what he was doing and in hard work, and despite many vicissitudes he slowly made headway. In 1969 he bought the ruin of the neighbouring palace of the Conde de Cumbrehermosa, a Cargador de Indias which had a small bodega to which he added 2 more, though the firm no longer owns this. In 1982 he bought a 300 cask solera of oloroso known as Sangre y Trabajadero from the now defunct bodega Cuvillo. This wine had been traditionally used at the shipyards of Puerto Real de Navantia for launching ships. It is still available. He bought another old oloroso solera from the now also defunct bodega Merello Gomez from which he produces the Cream Mari Pepa.

In 1995 the top Spanish buyers' guides Penin and Gourmets gave his wines high marks, and in 1998 he got his first order from Britain, and slowly other countries began buying. The wines are probably better known abroad now than at home.

Range:
Colosia:
Fino, Dry Amontillado, Dry Oloroso, Cream, PX, Moscatel Soleado and a 50 year old Palo Cortado
Specials:
Mari Pepa Cream, Sangre y Trabajadero Oloroso, Fino Campo de Guia

Brandy Juan Sebastian Elcano (nearly 100 year old solera) Named after Spanish Navy training ship.
Vinegar

Visits yes
Contact
Address: Avenida Bajamar, 40, 11500 Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz
Tel: (+34) 956 852 852
Web: www.gutierrez-colosia.com

Colosia Fino 15%, Bodegas Gutierrez Colosia

Appearance
Very pale strawy gold, legs.
Nose
Soft, aromas of the seaside, salty sea breezes, light trace of  flor and a hint of palomino and quince fruit, with just a hint of camomile.
Palate
Soft and well rounded, very dry with a trace of apply acidity (though quite low in acid), touch of almond-like bitterness from the flor, hint salt. Fresh, clean reasonably long finish.

Comments

A very sound fino from el Puerto de Santa Maria, quite maritime. This bodega is right on the waterfront at the mouth of the river Guadalete, and benefits from any sea breezes going - probably the best sited in the whole town. It is also one which deserves support after the tireless work the family has done to put it on the map.
Price
£ 6,25 Bon Vivant's Companion, Edinburgh