Vinoble Tastings 2018: Reliquias Líquidas, González Byass

Hosted by González Byass oenologist and master blender Antonio Flores in his inimitable poetic and  humorous manner, this was a fascinating tasting of wines from the firm’s two new ranges of rare wines: Solera Reservada and Vinos Finitos. The Solera Reservada is effectively a club limited to 200 members who can purchase exclusive lots of top notch Sherry released annually along with all sorts of other benefits. The Vinos Finitos is a range of wines which cannot be repeated, either because they are vintage wines or because they come from small one-off lots. 

Fino Almendroso (Solera Reservada) 15%

From butt number 92 in the Tio Pepe Rebollo solera with 4 years solera age, very old butts, hints cabezuela, acetaldehyde not excessive, quite full, saline and complex. GB family drink this

Fino Añada 2010 (Finite Wines) 16%

A damper, cooler year than normal, fairly pale, hint more acidity than 2011 but very clean and fresh

Fino Añada 2011 (Finite Wines) 15%

A dry year, ½ normal rainfall, fuller, drier, slightly darker and nuttier, touch more acetaldehyde

Amontillado (Solera Reservada) 19%

From a Wisdom & Warter solera, over 40 years old, fragrant, nutty, classic, charming, long

Palo Cortado (Solera Reservada) 21%

20 years average age, mosto yema, fresh, clean, light, smooth, very long and super elegant

Oloroso (Solera Reservada) 21%

Over 40 years average age, deep mahogany, full yet elegant, well integrated oak, very long

Oloroso Alfonso 1/6 (Finite Wines) 22%

Over 40 years old, 6 butts aged statically after removal from solera, full, fairly crisp, intense yet elegant, very long, delicious, classic

Dulce Palomino (Solera Reservada) 16%

31 years static ageing (añada) 280g/l sugars, lighter than PX, super smooth, deep colour, toffee…

Moscatel Pio X 1903 (Finite Wines) 9%

Made before Phylloxera, probably in the 1860s from ungrafted moscatel menudo vines), butt dedicated to Pope Pius X in 1903 (a common practice then), from 90 litres remaining in 700 litre tonel, 700g/l sugars (!), almost black, stains the glass, viscous, intense, incredible balance and smoothness, absolutely delicious, served in pipettes as quantities are so limited. Only 100 bottles released, just 4 in Spain – at 1,800€ each - remaining 20 are in the firm’s historic “botellero”.

GB is considering the release of other treasures like the PX Tio Pancho “Romano”, the oldest wine they have, dating from 1728 or the Solera Trafalgar dating from 1805, both predating the firm’s foundation (1835), but in tiny quantities up to just 150 bottles and inevitably at very high prices.

Vinoble 2018 A Brief Report

Tuesday evening marked the end of the well-attended 10th edition of Vinoble, with more tastings - some of them unforgettable - and lots of new wines and new sacas making their debut. While the event has experienced its fair share of ups and downs over the years, the organisation has noticeably improved, especially with the new website offering plenty of information and a means to buy tasting tickets online and in advance, thus avoiding the awful queues of previous years. 2018 has generally been considered very successful, but a great deal of work can and still needs to be done to further improve it, and starting now, as it generates not only great interest in and sales of wine but also provides an important boost to the economy of Jerez itself, not only for the bodegas but also for local bars, restaurants and hotels which were almost at capacity.

Given Vinoble’s location, the presence of the great wines of Andalucía can be counted upon, but it is more difficult to attract those in other regions of Spain and abroad which add greater breadth and variety to the event. In 2010 there were representatives from 17 other countries, while this year there were only 5, though many did have some sort of representation by their Spanish distributors. In all there were 62 stands including various dedicated to food and wine matching. 7,300 people attended, with 20% from abroad representing 16 countries. Jerez City Council is already looking at increasing the number of stands; over a dozen applicants had to be turned down.

There were many unmissable tastings, tickets for which ran out in 48 hours, but I managed to obtain tickets for four, all held in the Alcazar's XII century mosque: The Treasures of San Ginés – vintage wines from the Consejo Regulador’s bodega, Liquid Relics from González Byass, A Journey through the Albarizas and Vineyards of Jerez by Willy Pérez and Ramiro Ibáñez and From Miraflores la Baja to Macharnudo Alto by Equipo Navazos. Tastings of such a calibre inevitably attract many more than there is room for, and in the cases of more than one, more time was needed, and this is something the organisers could look into, however with certain very old and rare wines, larger quantities could be a problem.

Alongside the official programme there were all sorts of side events organised by individual bodegas. Fausino González offered an event for restaurateurs and sommeliers, Díez Mérito offered tapas and Sherry for friends, restaurateurs and distributors, Sánchez Romate offered a fiesta including flamenco, Bodegas Tradición held a show-cooking event and González Byass showed off their Botellero, the wine racks at the bodega containing ancient treasures. The Council held an event in its little bodeguita.

The stars of the show were the young, talented and driven “rebels”, operating under the banner of Territorio Albariza and members of the Manifiesto 119, an association dedicated to recuperating old vines, winemaking methods and re-evaluating the pagos: Ramiro Ibáñez, Willy Pérez, Primitivo Collantes, Alejandro Narváez, Rocio Áspera, Armando Guerra and Francisco and José Blanco. Not only was their stand incredibly busy, but also the tasting given by Willy and Ramiro was greeted by rapturous applause. These “rebels” are at the root of the Consejo Regulador looking into including new products into the Denominación de Origen and are pointing the way forward.

After three hectic days I left the Alcázar exhausted but with a genuine sense of optimism. A lot is happening on the ground and even in officialdom, there seems to be a new product every five minutes, something very few wine regions could boast, and the reins of Sherry’s future are now at last firmly in the hands of its producers, who seem ever more open minded and justifiably proud of their unique and magnificent product. Only a few years ago there was only doom and gloom, but now there is imagination, hard work and optimism. The Sherry Revolution is real and unstoppable.

Tesalia 2015 14.5%, Bodega Tesalia

Appearance
Opaque blacky red, still retaining a hint of purple at a fairly tight rim with ruby glints.
Nose
Big, full and still a little closed but lots of ripe black berry fruit like blueberry and bramble, though a  slightly smoky, peppery hint denotes the presence of Syrah. A ripe grape skin texture is apparent and there are attractive toasty, spicy notes of French oak. This is a serious wine which is yet to show its full hand. It is deep and concentrated, almost brooding  and most impressive.
Palate
Full bodied, quite intense and well structured with noticeable but well controlled ripe tannins. It is very generous with a real feel of the hot south. It has all you'd expect of a fine wine with lots of spice, fruit, texture, grip and complexity, all well balanced and harmonised, but still needs time to give of its best, and its best will be very good indeed in three to five years. This is an extremely good wine.
Comments
This is Richard Golding’s first commercial release of what he hopes will be the “Grand Cru” of Andalucía. It comes from 11 hectares of vines in a beautiful estate in the foothills of the Sierra de Grazalema near Arcos de la Frontera. The wine is made from 65% Petit Verdot, 25% Syrah, 5% Tintilla and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, all from separate plots, night harvested by hand and vinified separately. The grapes are cold macerated for 4 days before fermentation which lasts a little over 3 weeks. After blending the wine is aged for a year in French oak barrels. Naturally the percentages of grapes in the blend vary slightly from year to year. Total annual production of this Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz is around 6,000 bottles. The ribbon on the neck of the very heavy bottle, which is sealed with a quality 2 inch cork, shows the GPS coordinates of the bodega.

Price

29,60, Licores Corredera

La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada 80 16.5%, Equipo Navazos

Appearance
Bright old gold verging on light amber with golden glints.
Nose

This wine is at a fascinating stage of development. Fragrant and super complex, at 15 years of age it could be an Amontillado but the flor has been protected as long as humanly possible. There are aromas of straw, briny seaweed, flor, almond and acetaldehyde along with traces of oak and gentle oxidative notes. While definitely still a Manzanilla Pasada it is close to the limit and not so far from Amontillado. The pinnacle of biological ageing.

Palate

Full, intense, concentrated and clean with perfect tangy acidity and a salty note along with traces of butter, toast, nuts like almond and hazelnut and a faint salted caramel hint. It is teetering on the brink, but still Manzanilla (not that it changes overnight). There is a slightly dry chalky feel and it leaves a long clean finish and a sense of deep satisfaction.

Comments

This outstanding and very interesting wine was bottled in December 2017 in a saca of 1,000 bottles (500 litres) from a single butt in the La Guita solera at the Miericordia bodega. This same butt supplied the wine for La Bota nos. 20, 40, 50 and 60. It is a bota punta, so called because it at one end of the solera. I have a feeling this butt is really a tonel (which is a bit bigger) or nearly all of its wine would have been bottled. It was filled almost to tocadedos however, to protect what little flor remains at around 15 years of age. The bitter flor notes are therefore slightly muted and there are distinct notes of oxidation as well as a higher alcohol level. Two and a half years have elapsed since the last saca from this butt, after which, as is not uncommon for a bota punta, it was replenished with wine from the same solera rather than the 1st criadera. The result is absolutely delicious, grab it!

Price
50 euros per 50cl, Guerrita

The Production Bodegas

Unlike any other wine region, the Marco de Jerez DO is divided into two distinct zones: the ageing zone and the production zone. The ageing zone or “Sherry Triangle” consists of the three towns of Jerez, El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar and only wines aged here can carry the DO seal. The rest of the delimited area is the production zone, which naturally comprises all the vineyards, but the bodegas which age wine here are not allowed to sell wine under the DO seal. Instead much wine and must is sold to the shipping bodegas in the ageing zone which are allowed to sell it on as DO Sherry, simply because it has been aged, or further aged, there. They can’t sell Sherry-style wines under the IGP (Indicación Geográfica Protegida) Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz either, so the only DO open to them is that of Production Zone. It is more about where wine is aged rather than where it is produced.

The production bodegas produce wine which is often every bit as good as that of the shippers, but without the DO label they cannot sell it for the price it merits. Many do bottle wine for sale without the DO seal, and while they do get a “Bodega de Producción Control de Existencias” seal, and are allowed to use the name of the place they come from as well as terms like “Fino” and “Amontillado”, they can’t use the word “Sherry”. Another problem is that the costs of bottling, labelling and distribution add to the price and few customers would want to pay that without the guarantee of the word “Sherry”. This obviously hinders sales, but suits the big shipping bodegas very well as it limits competition. They are a much more powerful lobby at the Consejo and are in no hurry to see any change in the status quo, however unfair it might seem to the production bodegas, who would like to see the production zone merged with the ageing zone and thereby be able to avail themselves of the same rights. There are some moves afoot, however. In May 2018 the Consejo set up a commission to look into all the contentious issues in the area, one of which is whether to abolish the difference between Production and Ageing Bodegas. If that ever happens, it will take a while...

Some of the production bodegas produce outstanding wines which they are able to sell by their sheer merit. Chipiona is famous for Moscatel and César Florido has a fascinating bodega here which not only makes outstanding Moscatel, much of which is supplied to shipping bodegas who sell it under their own name, but also a range of very good “Sherries” called Cruz del Mar and the superb Peña del Águila range. Chiclana has two outstanding bodegas. Primitivo Collantes has been earning an excellent reputation in recent years with Fino Arroyuelo en rama, Amontillado Fino Fossi (both have scored 90 Parker points) and two white table wines, Socaire and Viña Matalian. Then there is Bodegas Sanatorio, better-known as Manuel Aragón, with its well-known Moscatel Gloria and Fino Granero. Here Equipo Navazos selected La Bota de Palo Cortado 62 which scored 98 Parker points and La Bota de Oloroso 63 which scored 99. So there can be no doubt that the production zone can make good wine, and given the chance, do much to enhance the range of wines on offer.

The following are the ten production zone bodegas registered with the Consejo Regulador and all of these bodegas have good quality bottled wines to sell, though they are hard to find in shops, despite their good prices, but they are well worth looking out for. Some also offer good local table wines.

Chipiona

Bodegas César Florido

Bodegas José Mellado Martín

Bodega Coop Católico Agrícola

Chiclana

Bodegas Barberá

Bodegas Miguel Guerra

Bodegas Primitivo Collantes

Bodegas Sanatorio (Manuel Aragón)

Bodega Coop. Viticultores Chiclaneros

Bodegas Vélez

Trebujena

Bodega Coop. Virgen de Palomares

2.6.18 International Wine Challenge 2018 2nd Tranche Sherry Results

Known as the “Wine Oscars”, the IWC is, along with the Decanter World Wine Awards, the biggest wine competition. It is held in two tranches (in November and April) with the Champion Trophy and Winemaker of the Year being chosen from the shortlists and announced at the awards dinner in London on 10^th July.  

Listed below are the Sherry results to date:   

               

Fortified Winemaker of the Year

Shortlist: Sergio Martínez (Lustau), Antonio Flores González Byass), Manuel José Valcárcel (Harveys)

Champion of Champions

Shortlist: Cuatro Palmas, González Byass

Sherry Trophy: Tres Palmas, González Byass

Pedro Ximénez Trophy: Harveys PX VORS

Amontillado Trophy: Amontillado VORS, Harveys

Cream Trophy: Matusalem VORS, González Byass

Fino Trophy: Tres Palmas, González Byass

Manzanilla Trophy: Booth’s Manzanilla (Williams & Humbert)

Oloroso Trophy: Oloroso del Puerto Almacenista González Obregón, Lustau

Palo Cortado Trophy: Palo Cortado, Harveys

Unfortunately there are just too many other awards to list here but there were 44 Gold medals, 41 Silvers, 19 Bronze, 9 Commendations and 3 Great Value, showing not only that Sherry is a serious international contender in terms of quality but also that it is at last being taken very seriously again.

1.6.18 Decanter World Wine Awards

DWW, now in its 15^th edition, is the largest wine competition in the world and this year it involved 275 international experts from 33 countries of whom 59 were Masters of Wine and 25 were Master Sommeliers. A total of 16,903 wines were entered and it took 2 weeks to taste them all using 49,000 glasses supplied by Riedl. All wines are tasted blind and tasters only know the wine’s region, style and price bracket. The best of the Gold winners win Platinum Medals, and they are re-tasted in search of the best in category for which they win a Best in Show Trophy. Only 0.03% of the wines achieved this. There were 50 Best in Show Trophies awarded and of the 9 won by Spain, Sherry took 3 (or 6%).

Best in Show Trophies:

Lustau Almacenista Palo Cortado Cayetano del Pino (97 points)

Lustau Oloroso VORS (98)

Hidalgo La Gitana Amontillado Napoleón VORS (97)

Platinum:

Osborne Solera AOS (97)

Osborne PX Venerable VORS (97)

González Byass Cuatro Palmas (97)

Lustau Oloroso VORS (98)

Gold (95-100 points)

Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla Pastrana (95)

Valdespino Don Gonzalo VOS (96)

Osborne Sibarita VORS (95)

Lustau Amontillado VORS (96)

Lustau PX VORS (96)

Lustau Almacenista Pata de Gallina, García Jarana (95)

González Byass Apóstoles VORS (95)

González Byass Amo. Del Duque VORS (95)

González Byass Matúsalem VORS (95)

González Byass  Noé VORS (95)

Silver, Bronze and Commended:

There were too many to list here, and the lower ranks have many own label brands not widely available, however 34 Sherries won Silver (89-94 points) and 30 won Bronze (86-89 points) with 7 Commended (all with 84-85 points). So in total Sherry won 81 medals and 7 Commendations.