29.2.16 Sherry Tasting in Cataluña

Famous though it is for wine and Cava, Penedés was impressed by the wines of Jerez. Held at the premises of top Cava producer Juvé y Camps, José Antonio Zarzana, ninth generation proprietor of the Jerez PX specialist Ximénez Spínola, impressed oenologists from the leading Cava producers with the latest innovations going on in Jerez, not only in the sphere of traditional wines but also in that of table wines. The tasting was in two parts: the dry wines then the sweet ones.

The Sherry tasting at Juve y Camps (foto:diariojerez)

The dry wines were supplied by Bodegas Faustino González: Fino en rama, Amontillado, Palo Cortado and Oloroso. The two sweet wines were from Ximénez Spínola: one a classic naturally sweet PX and the other a new wine and much less sweet. It is late harvest PX from the Pago Carrascal fermented in French oak barrels leaving a residual sugar content of 25g/l, much lighter and less sweet than the traditional wine with around 400g/l. The first vintage produced only 2,900 bottles but this one produced 12,000 which will sell at about 28€ each. José Antonio concluded the tasting with Ximénez Spínola’s unique and spectacularly flavourful Licor de Brandy, made from PX and aged first in chestnut butts then in French oak butts.

Fino Camborio 15%, Juan Piñero

Appearance

Pale to mid straw with golden highlights, legs

Nose

Forthcoming, almost pungent with plenty of flor but slightly drier than that of Sanlúcar, more scrub-like. There is some depth and body here with saline, olive brine, almond notes, and traces of dough and dried grass. A  really good nose, and good and fresh.

Palate

Full, weighty, assertive with an attractive flor bitterness, fresh, clean and briny, and very dry with a fairly low acidity, but that bitterness gives length in plenty. Hard to have just one glass...

Comments

Camborio used to be a very reputable brand of Fernando A de Terry in El Puerto. They were taken over by Rumasa in 1981 and sold by the State to Harveys in 1984. Harveys became part of Allied Domecq in 1994, and later part of Beam Global and now Emperador. The Terry wines now available from Harveys are just a basic range. Somewhere along the line this Fino was sold to Juan Piñero, who has treated it with the respect it deserves. For a start he has Ramiro Ibáñez as consultant oenologist. The 400 butt solera has 3 criaderas and there is only 1 annual saca. The wine is 8-9 years old and the mosto for the solera comes from the Blanco Brothers' vineyards in the pagos of Macharnudo and Añina.

Price

7.85 Euros, great value

The original Camborio

Fantastic Lecture at Williams & Humbert

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the latest lecture in the excellent series organised by W&H. Entitled "The Curious History of Fino" the lecture was imparted by Javier Maldonado Rosso, a local academic and historian of all things Jerez who has written or contributed to important books on the subject. Widely respected, he was introduced by Jesús Medina, managing director of the bodega.

The well attended lecture took place in the section of this vast bodega devoted to the famous Añada wines, and I am sure a butt from my birth year (which shall remain a secret) was smiling at me. Among the bodegueros and members of the public present were Beltrán Domecq and Evaristo Babé. Javier began by saying that Fino has a surprising history "as there is no other wine which has gone from being described as feeble and sick to being considered a jewel of worldwide viniculture."

Evaristo Babe, Javier Maldonado, Jesus Medina, Beltran Domecq

He then delved into the origins of a wine which apparently took as its name the highest quality description a wine can have: "Fine (Sp: Fino) Wine" but one which had a difficult time earning general respect. In Jerez the term Fino means light, elegant and sophisticated. From the earliest times until comparatively recently the appearance of flor yeast on the wine's surface was considered a defect and it took a long time to realise the beneficial effect it had on the wine. 

In the 1820s tastes in the British market, the most important at the time, were changing in favour of lighter wines, and there was an impetus to do more with Fino. The paler wines sold at that time were however closer to young Amontillado than the Finos of today. Therefore how long Fino as we know it has been on the market is hard to say as it depends on its definition. In conclusion Javier said "Fino is the work of growers, bodegueros, oenologists, arrumbadores (the men who positioned the butts and climbed up to get samples) and scientists, and the result of collective empirical and scientific knowledge.

The evening, which was very much enjoyed by all, closed with questions and answers which were followed by general conversation with a glass of Fino Pando or Canasta Cream dispensed by a very efficient young venenciador. Williams & Humbert did us all proud.

25.2.16 BIB Information Day; More on Versos 1891

The Professional Association of Artisan Bodegas of Sanlúcar has invited everyone in the sherry trade, producers, distributors, bodegas, Cooperatives, institutions such as the Consejo regulador and public administrations to an information day in Sanlúar entitled “Bag in Box and Quality Wine”. It will take place at the Castillo de Santiago in Sanlúcar on the 2 March at 19.00 and they expect a good attendance.

Francisco Yuste with his BIB (foto:andaluciainformacion)

There is a double purpose: partly to inform interested parties and public opinion about BIB which is seeing exponential growth in some markets, and in some European countries represents over 60% of sales, and partly to dispel any doubt about its legality in horeca. There will be a comparative tasting of quality wines, some from the bottle and some from the BIB and they will attempt to demonstrate the advantages of the BIB over the legal garrafa.

Barbadillo’s new launch, the £8,000/10,000€ Versos 1891 is selling fast. UK importer Fells received orders for 20 bottles before it was even released. So you had better hurry – there are only 80 bottles left and it will be many years before any more can be bottled. Here's a picture of it with its gift packaging. I just wonder what the Consejo thinks of having a date so prominent on the bottle. Obviously it is unlikely to be a vintage wine from 1891 and the word Vintage/Añada has not been used but someone might think it is...

And there's more: The bottle is "intelligent". It is sealed with a thin printed film called NFC Opensense Thinfilm which can distinguish between factory sealed and opened via an application in the cloud so the seal can transmit authentication data to any smartphone with the NFC app. and each bottle has a unique identification which cannot be cloned. If I could afford it I'd be scared to open it!

Oloroso El Cerro 21%, Viña La Callejuela

Appearance

Copper tinted amber to mahogany with a slight trace of green at the rim, legs.

Nose

Classic Oloroso with a trace of Sanlúcar maritime crispness, clean, generous and open with hints of nutty sweetness, walnut and toasted almond with a touch of cinnamon and vanilla, then traces of polished furniture, but always with just enough of that sweet glyceric note to balance.Very appealing.

Palate

Crisp, lively entry then it opens out into a generous glyceric nuttiness but which is always contained by gentle tannins and acidity. Tight and fresh and amazingly long, this is a perfect wine for food as well as  lively discussion.

Comments

Voted one of the three best wines in Spain and best Fortified by El Mundo Vino, this delightful Oloroso is at least 20 years old. It is bottled en rama and sealed with a driven cork. The solera originated with a purchase of a few butts of old Oloroso from the sale of Rumasa stocks when that huge firm went bust, and it has been refreshed since then with Oloroso from the Blanco brothers' own vineyard which surrounds the bodega just outside Sanlúcar.

Price

Around 25.00 Euros per 50cl bottle

Bodegas: Alonso

Fran Asencio made a lot of money as a construction engineer, investing some of it in an excellent bodega in Asturias: Dominio del Uragallo. Since they came from Sevilla, he and his brother Fernando were keen to invest in a project in the south and came across the tortuous demise of the great bodega Pedro Romero in Sanlúcar. Francisco Yuste bought the Manzanilla Aurora soleras, and Fran and Fernando bought one of the bodegas in Calle Rubiños known as Bodegas Méndez, an almacenista bought by Pedro Romero, the name being used as a sous-marque. Many of the 10,000 or so butts which were owned by Pedro Romero are now stored in other bodegas round the town.

The brothers want to retain the brand names of Pedro Romero and Gaspar Florido and intend to bottle a limited quantity of the GF wines to show the world that they still exist. However they have been inundated with retailer requests to bottle large – even ridiculous – quantities, like 3,000 bottles of solera GF25.

Fran Asencio posing with a rather good wine

The Asencios have bought 13 hectares of vineyards in the Pagos Balbaina and Miraflores, and these musts will be used to refresh a solera based on 40 butts of maturing "vino blanco" from Pedro Romero. This will be the upmarket Manzanilla with complete traceability from grape to glass, but unfortunately it won't be available for a while.

Meanwhile they have already bought Manzanilla from almacenistas to establish another solera and are buying grapes and making wine to feed it which will hopefully be profitable enough to pay for the upkeep of the old wines. This wine was launched  in early spring 2017 under the brand name Velo Flor. They are not in a hurry; everything will be done the artisan way. Other ideas are also being considered, such as unfortified wine.

The bodega, which is in a pretty poor state, is actually just below sea level in the Barrio Bajo with virtually perfect exposition to the west wind, and is thus perfect for Manzanilla. Luckily the sacristia is in better condition which is just as well as it stores the legendary soleras GF 25, GF 30 which consists of only 5 butts and Ánsar Real (2 butts dating from 1840) soleras, all kept under lock and key – wisely, as  Carbon 14 tests show its age to be 126 years.

Since the bodega is only large enough for ageing wine, they have had to vinify in rented premises and want to build their own winery, which will raise the question of whether to ferment in steel tanks or in butts, but not being in a hurry, they have allowed themselves 3 years to get this sorted. According to the capataz, José Antonio Palacios, who has worked at the bodega for the last 15 years, some of the soleras have not been properly run in 4 or 5 years except for tiny sacas and rocíos to maintain some sort of freshness, but he says that the bodega needs to be reorganised and some proper running of the soleras is necessary.

The Asencio brothers are acutely aware of the enormous scale of the work needed, and that they are now responsible for a part of the history of Sanlúcar but are dedicated to the task of keeping these wine jewels alive.

Wines:
Manzanilla Velo Flor (9-10 years old), Amontillado from Gaspar Florido (90-100 years old), Palo Cortado from Pedro Romero (60-70 years old), Oloroso from Pedro Romero (60-70 years old)

Address: Calle Rubiños, 1 Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Cádiz

Telephone: (+34) 956 360 266

Website: www.bodegasalonso.com (under construction)

Visits? Not for a while

22.2.16 Barbadillo Releases £8,000 Sherry

Manuel Barbadillo (1891-1986), poet, author and historian on Sherry and successful bodeguero was the director of Bodegas Barbadillo for many years. As a christening present he and his four brothers were given one each of a set of five butts known as “Las Botas de los Niños. Manuel’s butt contained Amontillado described as very old in 1891. As some of the wine was drunk the butt was occasionally refreshed with suitable old wine until the 1980s but it still shows massive concentration and is rich and nutty, given that some of it is 150 years old.

It is called “Versos 1891”, the date being a reference to Manuel’s date of birth, not a vintage date. ”Versos” (Spanish for “verses”) refers to Manuel’s poetic skills. It is presented in a high quality leather gift box made by expert tanners in Ubrique (Cádiz) and the bottle is a hand-blown crystal decanter made by Portuguese crystal specialists Atlantis. Only 100 bottles have been filled and no more will be forthcoming for many years so this is an extremely rare wine, the second most expensive Sherry ever, but it will no doubt sell quickly to collectors.