8.4.18 Historic Tasting in Sanlúcar

On Friday night Antonio Peña who runs the great wine shop De Albariza put on a really interesting tasting. It consisted of comparing some classic Sherries, bottled 40 years ago or more, with the same wines bottled recently. Antonio Barbadillo (Sacristía AB) gave a fascinating talk and brought two Manzanillas of his own. It was a wonderful tasting, and here is a list of the wines along with brief comments:

Manzanilla Sacristía AB Primera saca 2011 (@ 7 years in bottle)

Quite deep in colour, slight hint of Amontillado, traces of biscuit, caramel, complex, lovely.

Manzanilla Sacristía AB Primera saca 2017 (@ 1 year in bottle)

Fresh, complex, full, saline and rounded, classic.

Palo Cortado Wellington, Hidalgo La Gitana (@ 40 years in bottle)

Early hints of diesel, cardboard, slightly drier but opened out beautifully, delicious

Palo Cortado Wellington VORS, Hidalgo La Gitana (@ 1 year in bottle)

Very slightly darker, sweeter, hints orange, cinnamon, saline, charming

Amontillado del Duque, González Byass (@ 40 years in bottle)

A bit leaner and cardboardy at first but opened out beautifully,

Amontillado del Duque VORS, González Byass (@ 1 year in bottle)

A shade sweeter, hint of tobacco, delightful. These two were remarkably similar.

Amontillado Quo Vadis, Delgado Zuleta (@ 40 years in bottle)

Tight at first but remarkable complexity as it opened out, crisp saline, elegant, long

Amontillado Quo Vadis VORS, Delgado Zuleta (@ 1 year in bottle)

A shade sweeter, even a faint fruit note but still saline, crisp and long

Sherry Crema, González Byass (almost certainly well over 50 years in bottle)

This was without doubt the oldest wine but it is sadly no longer available so we couldn’t obtain a newer version. It was fruity, balanced, not over sweet and quite delicious, made with a little Moscatel as well, as was the style in the past, and it was aged as a blend. It had the most sediment, so it had certainly lost both colour and sweetness - but certainly none of its appeal.

It was fascinating to see how well the old wines had developed in bottle and how things have changed. Firstly it was hard to date the old bottlings precisely as they had no lot numbers on the label, and no back label, so we had to make educated guesses. The recently bottled Palos Cortados and Amontillados were all VORS, but as the system was only introduced in the year 2,000, that qualification was not available to the old wines though they have the same solera age, being effectively the same wines, just with more bottle age. The old corks showed their age more than the wine. They were all of the T type which is not terribly suitable for laying-down and so have a tendency to dry out, and with one exception they all broke. Not unexpectedly, the old wines were a little closed and showed a hint of reduction, requiring persuasion to open them out, and naturally they were very slightly paler and drier. Once they had opened out they were reassuringly similar to the new wines which all had a little more up front charm, at least at first. Times have moved on, labels have changed, but Sherry is as good as ever.

10.1.18 Sanlúcar to Produce Whisky

A new project to distil whisky in Sanlúcar is under way run by the team which, among other things, operates the Weisshorn restaurant in Calle Sevilla, just opposite the Barbadillo bodegas. The restaurant specialises in North African cuisine, while they also make hand-made electric guitars and gin. The name Weisshorn refers to a ship which ran aground in 1994 carrying 6,000 tons of rice, which when soaked in sea water expanded till it broke the ship in two.

Distilling in the area has a long history dating back to Moorish times and most bodegas had stills, but the last one fell silent in 1970, leaving only its chimney as a reminder. It wasn’t only wine leftovers which were distilled; rice was also used, and a form of rice whisky accompanied Magellan on the first circumnavigation of the globe in the early XVI century. Roberto Payá of Weisshorn has already had success with Luciferi and 1522 gins and has now secured adjacent premises to distil the whisky with production expected to begin sometime later this year and a finished product on the market in 2022, the 500th anniversary of the return of what remained of Magellan’s fleet.

The definition of whisky is rather vague, being a distillate produced from cereals which must be aged for a minimum of three years in oak barrels, so rice can be used and that’s the plan. It will come from the Coto Doñana and the spirit will be aged in Sherry casks naturally, so it will be 100% Sanlúcar.

This is what it will look like

Vino Blanco Covisan 2016 11.5%, Coop Covisan

Appearance

Pale silvery strawy gold, looks young and fresh.

Nose

Soft and slightly chalky, even a very slight trace of sherbet, faintly floral with gentle apple, pear and melon fruit. It is not massively complex but really quite attractive, and it's Palomino.

Palate

Again soft and gentle, and although the acidity is low it works with those orchard white fruits coming through. Its lightness and freshness make it attractive, especially in summer. Moderate length. Dangerously easy quaffing wine of decent quality.

Comments

Covisan stands for  Cooperativa del Campo Vitivinícola Sanluqueña which was established in 1968. The seven cooperatives in the Sherry area own a little over half the vineyards and each thus produces large quantities of wine. They act as independent wine producers with their own soleras and brands, sell bulk mosto (newly fermented wine) to the bodegas and bars and also sell them mature wine as required. So the coops are a very important part of the system. Covisan is well equipped with modern plant and is very serious about its wine. They supply La Guita next door and La Gitana among others. Anyway this wine is made from the first very gentle pressing of Palomino (as is their Manzanilla), fermented in stainless steel tanks at @ 17C allowed to settle and then gently filtered before bottling. It seems so cheap but it is good and also available (legally!) in BIB.

Price
2.30 euros ex bodega

21.6.17 Día de la Manzanilla

What is known as the Día de la Manzanilla is now a three day plus event and this year it runs from the 23 June till the 26 June in celebration of Sanlúcar’s finest product. Here is a brief resumé of the events, most of which are free:

Friday 23

Visit to Barbadillo 12.00

Saturday 24

Open day at Bodegas Covisan 11.00-14.00

Visit to Bodegas La Cigarrera 13.00

Open day at Bodegas La Guita 20.30-22.00

Tasting “De Sanlúcar, la Manzanilla" at Dealbariza wine shop 21.00

Sunday 25

Public Manzanilla tasting and flamenco, Plaza del Cabildo 20.00

Monday 26

Open day at Bodegas Covisan 11.00-14.00

Manzanilla tasting at Bodegas Delgado Zuleta 12.00

“Goyatherapy” workshop 12.30 (Spa treatment using vine products)

Visit to Bodagas La Gitana 19.30

Tempting, isn’t it! And there’s also Innoble on Sunday 25 Sanlúcar is where to be right now. If you can't make it this year, make sure you're there next year!

Casa Marqués de Arizón: Cargadores a Indias

The names of many foreigners who settled in Spain became hispanicised as the locals often found them hard to pronounce. This applied to the Harrison family which fled to Spain to escape the Penal Laws which made life extremely difficult, indeed dangerous, for Catholics in their native Ireland. They arrived in the late XVII century at Blanes, a port town a little up the coast from Barcelona. Here they were soon involved with trade between Cataluña, Sanlúcar and the Americas, exporting among other goods, spirits and nuts from the former and wine and olive oil from the latter. They also became involved in shipbuilding and owned a small fleet of ships which would make their fortune.

In 1709 a branch of the family led by Felix Harrison bought a house in Sanlúcar between calle Divina Pastora and calle Banda Playa which was then on the riverbank at the Puerto de la Balsa where there was easy access to ships. The spectacular two storey house had a tower from which shipping could be observed, a beautiful central colonnaded patio, a well, an oratory and a delightful arched warehouse. It was extended between 1721 and 1730, and the many ancillary buildings contained stables, a cooperage and basement storage for oil, grain and of course, wine.

The family became one of the most important trading businesses of the day and they were even able to put ships and warehousing at the disposition of King Felipe V. This would pay off handsomely later on. They also owned much land and Jacinto Salvador de Arizón was given the title Marqués de Casa Arizón in 1739, one of 75 Cargadores a Indias to be ennobled. It was he who paid for the urbanisation of the Plaza de la Ribera, now the Plaza del Cabildo, among many other projects.

There are one or two macabre stories about the house. One member of the family is said to have watched helplessly as a ship laden with silver sank at the mouth of the Guadalquivir and threw himself from the tower. His ghost is occasionally seen at the spot where he died. Another story concerns Diego de Arizón, who in 1736 murdered his wife, Margarita Serguera, and the butler, Juan Peix for having an affair. He was condemned to death and awaiting his fate in prison in Cádiz, but King Felipe V commuted the sentence in exchange for 60,000 pesos which he duly spent on his royal palace in Madrid.  Don Diego later repented bequeathing his fortune to various religious institutions. The body of poor Doña Margarita is thought to have been walled up somewhere in the house, and her ghost, known as the white lady, is said to wander the house and the tower at full moon.

As time went by fortunes changed and the house fell into disrepair and almost ruin with speculative builders hovering, despite it being officially declared as being of Cultural Interest. It would have been tragic to lose this important building which is the biggest and best example of the historic business of the cargadores a Indias. It was finally converted into a 4 star hotel, the Palacio Arizón, and at least some of its stunning features can be enjoyed. It is well worth having a look, especially as the Sánchez Ayala Bodegas are opposite.