Month: Feb 2016

Age before beauty?

~ sharquillo ~ Leave a comment

Not long ago I was lamenting the fact that the most expensive sherry I could find on a top class wine list was only the 345th most expensive wine on there. As if on cue, Barbadillo have just released a monstrously old, rare wine, with a wonderful back story (and name) and a strictly limited production amontillado called the Versos 1891 and have slapped on it the eye watering price of £8,000 – just over €10.000. (A look back at that same list puts this wine much higher up the pecking order – in the top 20 indeed.)

600x300versos

Now you don’t need me to tell you that this blogger won’t be getting within a mile of this nectar (although I would be happy to have a crack) but, knowing the exceptional talent of enologa Montse Molina and the fabulous wines they have down there, I am prepared to bet it is absolutely top class. I am also prepared to bet, however, that it is somewhat challenging, to use my favourite euphemism. Indeed, in this entertaining post by Victoria Moore in the Telegraph she notes that: “The wine itself is insanely intense.”

It worries me. Is “insanely intense” the definition of excellence for the wines of Sanlucar? Not for me. I must admit when I started taking a serious interest in sherry I was fascinated by these really old, big beasts, but the more sherry I drink the more disconcerted I am by the concentration in them. These very old soleras definitely gain in character as the years go by, but with a few exceptions I find a lot of the very old wines difficult. Not just the concentration either. I find the flavours can turn a corner – from chocolate, pine forests and fresh pipe tobacco to dusty leather and stale cigarettes. (Recently I find the super aged wines easier to deal with in the sweeter styles – the very old PXs and moscatels can be absolutely outstanding.)

It brought to mind a comment by Pitu Roca in the Mystery of the Palo Cortado where he talks about the possibility that Jerez gives you of drinking “history”. I wouldn’t dispute that, but by choosing to make a bottle of “history” the most expensive bottle of sherry ever, is there a risk of sending the wrong message? I for one would rather hear that it was the most exceptional bota of all the many thousands the Montse has tasted during her illustrious career – and that is not something I have read so far.

It is just a minor worry – I for one hope that Barbadillo sell all 100 bottles and that their purchasers treasure them. In fact when discussing this issue recently someone made a comment that made me giggle. They reckoned that the way to approach these concentrated wines is to give them a good spell of bottle conditioning to soften the effect – say twenty or thirty years!

Oloroso Pata de Gallina Juan Garcia Jarana

~ sharquillo ~ 4 Comments


The last wine of the Almacenistas tasting was this lovely Oloroso by Juan García Jarana. It was the only wine of the cata that I knew of beforehand and one I was looking forward to seeing again and learning more about.

It has been aged for an average of 15 years, is about 20º proof and comes from a solera of 38 butts. Apparently the name “pata de gallina” is a distinction given to wine that has a higher than average amount of glycerol – making the wine seem rounder and fuller than it might otherwise be. Whatever the reason, this is a little gem.

It is a crystal clear chestnut colour with a little more red and a touch less brown than its predecessors (this would have been a good cata for a side by side photo of all seven, had it occurred to me at the time). Almonds were a bit of a theme in this cata and here again there were almonds on the nose with sweet notes too and mineral smokiness underneath. Then on the palate it is full of flavour – zingy buzz to it and nice caramel, almond flavours, but spicey rather than bitter or astringent – very nice harmonious shape to it.

A really beautiful little wine – and my favourite of a very strong lineup.

 

Palo cortado Vides

~ sharquillo ~ 1 Comment


The penultimate wine of our Almacenistas tasting was this Palo Cortado from Jerez de la Frontera, a 15 year old (of which one under flor), 19º palo cortado from a solera of 50 botas.

I clearly remember the spiciness of this one. Looks and smells really enticing: a dark, reddish horsechestnut colour and a nutty, slightly fruity nose. Then on the palate it is a racy style of wine, acid attack, a wider range of flavours, minerals and alcoholic heat and a nice crisp finish.

Not over long or full bodied but a really good example of what palo cortados are all about.

Fino del Puerto Jose Luis Gonzalez Obregon 

~ sharquillo ~ 7 Comments

One of the great things about this Almacenistas range is the variety of styles – Lustau famously have bodegas in all three centres of the marco, and after two from Sanlucar it was time for a fino.

I don’t need my notes to tell you this is a cracker. The yeast in the nose, raw macadamias and seaside aromas of low tide/rockpools. After the elegance that preceded it came across as a muscular nose, and big and full on the palate too. I remember getting back to it much later in the evening and noting it was one of those finos that you can drink after dinner.

Brilliant stuff.

Amontillado de Sanlucar Manuel Cuevas Jurado    

~ sharquillo ~ 2 Comments

  

There were some doubts about the order of play on order of play but no problem at all for me. This was a typically elegant Sanlucar amontillado – in fact particularly fine, which may have to do with the five years under flor and seven ageing.

Again light in colour, a yellowy orange, nice nutty, mineral nose to it. On the palate a nice caramel attack but then a little bit of a gap before the minerals at the back end.

Very nice components – just a little bit disconnected. 

Manzanilla pasada Manuel Cuevas Jurado

~ sharquillo ~ 1 Comment

  

I cannot believe I have lost my notes to this brilliant tasting – really unbelievable incompetence even by my poor standards. 

Anyway, from memory this was a pale straw colour – paler than you expect. On the nose this was green apples, lots of raw almond aromas, maybe just a little mineral background. The palate was fresh, mineral and punchy – again green apples – but elegant too. Lovely wine and a really nice start to the evening. 

Oloroso del Puerto JL González Obregón

~ sharquillo ~ 1 Comment


We continue with our Lustau Almacenistas tasting with this Oloroso del Puerto by Jose Luis Gonzalez Obregon. Yet another 12 year old here, but with none of those five years under flor and the result is markedly different than with the amontillado.

This one had a lot of sweet notes, sweet spices and woody flavours and some of the guys at the table absolutely loved it. For me, there was a slight over balance on the woody side: it was like a juicy chocolate sweet – like a Cadbury eclair – but the caramel flavours were a little burnt and the barrel flavours gave it a bitter finish.

A tasty wine though – maybe would have done better against other olorosos.

Amontillado del Puerto JL González Obregón 

~ sharquillo ~ 2 Comments


Next up in the tasting of Lustau Almacenistas was the amontillado from the Almacenista José Luis González Obregón in el Puerto. From a small solera of only 10 botas this, likes it’s Sanlucar cousin, is a 12 year old amontillado with five years under flor and seven years of traditional ageing.

This was slightly deeper and richer in colour, a touch of reddish horsechestnut to it. Comparing the noses, this was slightly more honeyed and nutty, and had that hint of burnt butter that I associate with amontillados (ever since it was pointed out to me by Tom Gauterin – thanks Tom).  On the palate it had more muscle too, nuts and caramel, a big explosioon of zingy salinity and alcoholic heat and then long, fine finish.

A bigger, tastier, more muscular wine.

 

Equipo Navazos

~ sharquillo ~ 13 Comments


A fella has a pretty decent supply here: 16 bottles and 11 different wines from this brilliant team. A fair few more have come and gone too.

I have written before about the contribution these guys have made to marketing these wines with their magic numbers and the resulting scarcity.

But more importantly, the wines are of a very high quality indeed. Even in the three years I have known about them I have had the pleasure of 23 different botas:

Between them they cover every category and style of wine: some classic and elegant, some extreme, museum pieces, some innovative wines and some pushing the technical boundaries. And to these you can add bubbles by Colet Navazos, table wine under the label Niepoort Navazos, brandies and who knows what next?

It really is a fantastic body of work.

Cata de Lustau Almacenistas in Taberna Palo Cortado

~ sharquillo ~ 15 Comments


Terrific tasting last night at Taberna Palo Cortado: Lustau‘s range of Almacenista wines (see this excellent post on Sherrynotes for background).


We had almost the entire range – the only one missing was the Jose de la Cuesta Fino del Puerto – covering the full spectrum from fino to oloroso and the whole region from Sanlucar to el Puerto. There were some real gems – the Fino del Puerto and the Oloroso Pata de Gallina were my favourites – but the overall level was excellent.

  • First up was the Manzanilla Pasada by almacenista Manuel Cuevas Jurado in Sanlucar, a relatively young and delicate example of a manzanilla pasada, with notes of apples and almonds, and a great start.
  • That was followed by the Amontillado de Sanlucar from the same Almacenista, a typically elegant and mineral Sanlucar amontillado that was just a little hollow in the middle.
  • Then we moved to El Puerto de Santamaria and the Fino del Puerto by Jose Luis González Obregón, a brilliant, muscular seaside fino with notes reminiscent of rockpools.
  • That was followed by an Amontillado del Puerto by the same almacenista, again a more muscular effort than its Sanlucar cousin and a big and tasty wine.
  • The last wine from el Puerto was the oloroso, again by Jose Luis González Obregón which was richer in texture and intense in flavour but a little woody for my taste.
  • Then to Jerez de la Frontera, and a palo cortado by the almacenista “Vides” (owned by a Domecq, but not one of those Domecqs) which was a spicey, racey wine and a great example of the style.
  • Finally, and still in Jerez, we finished with a little gem of an oloroso, the “Pata de Gallina” by Juan Garcia Jarana, a smooth, tasty, complex, gem of a wine

It was a brillian sample of styles and locations, Carlos and Claudia from Lustau were engaging and good company and the cata was also high quality in terms of the information and content: straight to the point, most of the facts (not the vineyards, unfortunately, but otherwise very good), and thankfully not too much blarney.


And to be fair there would be scope for a fair bit of blarney here since it is a pretty good product concept (as one of my colleagues pointed out): the identification with the almacenistas gives the wines a bit of identity and context. I for one would prefer to see some vineyards referenced and even some vintage wines (like the excellent 1997 Oloroso) but this is definitely  a step in the right direction.

I am going to allow myself one gripe: the packaging is elegant and quality but ¿it is really necessary to have a unique bottle shape? This one isn’t as bad as some but still plays havoc with my limited domestic storage.

What can I say about La Taberna? The supper was fantastic and the atmosphere was superb (increasingly boisterous as the wine flowed). Really great to be there and looking forward to my next excuse.