Oloroso

Oloroso Santa Petronila

~ sharquillo ~ 2 Comments

More snippets from a cracking dinner at Territorio ERA this week. We were given this blind and I must admit I thought it was a palo cortado. It is from Santa Petronila whose fino I tried a little while ago. 

As you can’t quite see it was a slightly yellowish brown in colour – clear but not fully crystalline. Has quite a spirity nose, with nuts and toffee laced with a bit of brandy, and then a nice bit of acidity first up on the palate. Not a big mouthful in terms of structure but a pleasant one with half toasted hazelnuts. All in all not your typical oloroso – comes across as a little lighter and finer than most.

Very nice though and one to look for for further study. 

Oloroso Solera 1842 

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I am not big into the sweeter wines but I thought this one – a VOS from Valdespino – was worth a dip. Neither is it all that sweet – you would say abocado or encabezado (not sure what the order is) and since it calls itself an oloroso I guess it is under 15% PX. 

Not all that expressive first up – came out of the wine fridge at 11 degrees and may be a little on the cool side.  A bit of a woody aroma like a pine forest and a nice a grapey/nuttiness to it on the palate. Very nicely integrated and balanced but I must admit I expected more oomph.

Will come back to this one. 

Las Añadas de Williams & Humbert

~ sharquillo ~ 8 Comments

5e9b9cb3-ae40-4d2b-8a32-7f3c5ed34a0cHas been an intense start to the new academic year with a lot of work and, for some reason, a lot of hangovers, so apologies for the delay in getting around to writing up these notes of what was an absolutely fantastic tasting nearly two weeks ago (gulp).

I have written before about the genius concept of this Colección Añadas, about a few of the individual wines and also about an interloper in this tasting: the Vintage Fino from 2006. What made this tasting so interesting, though, was the chance to taste them all in close succession and the resulting comparisons were revealing.

Since the Collection is known as the “añadas” (or “vintages”) collection we felt we should go vintage by vintage (although it would also have been good to go biological first etc – if only we had had two sets, and time) so here we go in order.

  • 2012 Fino- I really liked it. Very clean nose of almonds, fresh, compact and elegant, nice sensation of acidity gives it an incisive entry and then it has decent salinity, stretching out the finish. Really good and to my mind another great advert for this style of younger finos.
  • 2012 Oloroso – again very good. The almonds are still there on the nose and on the palate but they are toasted on the palate and there is a clear oloroso imprint to it. Bit heavier, slightly spicier flavour but not as much acidity up front and a touch less salinity. Less elegant in profile and a bit more boisterous, you would say.
  • 2009 Fino – if anything the impression I had was that there was more fruit in the 2009 than the 2012 fino but this could be because it was slightly less compact. The saline zing up front and the fresh finish are more marked and the hazelnut/juiciness also seems more pronounced – gives it balance if not quite elegance.
  • 2009 Oloroso – again big on flavour and this is for me the best of the olorosos. Again heavier bodied than the fino but now the sweet hazelnut flavours are much more pronounced making it a really juicy wine.
  • 2006 Fino – probably my favourite wine on the night, this really had a bit of everything. Not a straight comparison with the other since this was bottled in 2014, so really had 8 years under the flor compared to 7 for the 2009, and has had two years in the bottle. Whatever the case you have to say it was bottled bang in its prime – a lovely combination of salinity and almonds that almost gives you dairy aromas, zingy minerals, a creamy texture, those flavours, a long fresh finish. Absolutely brilliant.
  • 2003 Amontillado – ran it pretty close however. This would be the smoothest, most elegant and drinkable 20% alcohol wine I can remember, with sweet hazelnut beginning to mix in with the bitter almond flavours and a touch of acidity to go with the minerals. Difficult not to enjoy this.
  • 2003 Oloroso – had a tough task following those last two wines and was noticeably less refined and compact – the fino/oloroso gap opening over the years. Hazelnut flavours beginning to taste toasted, nice acidic spiciness and more obvious alcoholic heat.

I feel like the tasting gave me an insight into the curve that these wines follow as they age under flor or in the open air. On the other hand, despite an identifiable common personality, given the different amounts of ageing I found it hard to get a feeling for the different vintages as such, and as I look back I have almost more questions than answers. In particular I would love to be able to taste the mostos that were used and know a bit more about them.

As I say, at the end I wished I could start again (but as it happened a magnum of an excellent 2004 Finca Sandoval took my mind off it – thanks Victor!).
No doubt about it though, seven excellent, enjoyable wines and educational too – well done to Williams & Humbert on a fantastic collection.

 

 

Oloroso Galeon revisited

~ sharquillo ~ 1 Comment

Oloroso Galeon

Came across this little gem of an oloroso by Sanchez Ayala in Sanlucar for the second time a few days ago at a very very boozy barbecue with friends. I failed to take a picture so the above is from the last time (and a cracking pairing in La Chula), but I can promise you it looked pretty much the same.

It made me realize that some of my recent musings on the differences between the traditional wines of Sanlucar and Jerez were a little off beam. I had made the mistake of writing Sanlucar down as the home only of austere amontillados like Quo Vadis and the epic amontillado viejo Don Paco. Tasting this on the other hand brought to mind a very different style of wine, with the salinity and zing of a Sanlucar wine but a lovely rich caramel to it as well and the result is as tasty as it is elegant and balanced. (It reminded me, in fact, of two other cracking olorosos from Sanlucar: El Cerro and the 1986 Vintage Oloroso by Hidalgo-La Gitana.)

Am I imagining the salinity? My very nebulous grip of how these wines age makes me think that I might be, but there is no doubting the mineral nature and elegance of this. Really delicious, excellent stuff (and just as good with barbecue).

 

Las Añadas de Williams & Humbert in Taberna Verdejo

~ sharquillo ~ 4 Comments

The author is suffering from a severe hangover this morning but one that was well earned after a great night drinking some brilliant wines (and, it must be said, a top brandy).

As always, it will take a while to fully digest the learnings – and indeed find my notes – from last night but I wanted to share some immediate general impressions.

  • First, the Coleccion Añadas is a brilliant concept well executed. Sincere congratulations and thanks to Williams & Humbert for putting together this boxed set which made for a fascinating tasting.
  • Most importantly, the wines are very attractive, approachable wines with a clear personality to them – elegant for the most part but with juicy hazelnut, and very attractive on the nose in particular.
  • In the spirit of the collection we tasted by añadas – the 2012s followed by the 2009s, the 2006 Vintage Fino and the 2003s – and although we were not comparing like with like it was curious to note that the wines from warmer years came across as finer, more elegant than we might have expected.
  • There was of course a very notable difference in character between the finos and the olorosos – even at the younger end of the scale – but the differences between the different years were just as marked and very interesting. In particular, the finos became richer and more oxidated as went back in time and definitely gained in complexity – the 2006 Vintage Fino in particular was superb and the 2003 Amontillado was almost as good.
  • Having said that, I also thought the 2012s were excellent and a great advertisement for the “less is more” theory of wine making. I really think these wines with limited biological or traditional ageing are a way forward for the region in terms of winning over wine enthusiasts in general.

So all in all some cracking wines and another great learning experience, which was enriched in particular thanks to the great Victor de la Serna, who joined us as a special guest and brought along, in addition to some quality insights, a Magnum of his excellent 2004 Finca Sandoval.

And finally, a word on the food, which was absolutely delicious – the pisto, the rabbit, the pigeon, really out of this world.  Yet another enormous thankyou to the crew at Taberna Verdejo for their outstanding hospitality. 

 

Oloroso Old and Plus 

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I had wanted to try this ever since reading about it in this cracking elmundovino tasting back in 2009. A really top class panel gave it a glowing review and very nearly top marks. It also comes from Sanchez Romate, whose Fino Perdido is an absolute cracker.

I have a slight beef about the bottle shapes (and the closures) but there is no doubt they are attractive and cheap. What struck me at the time I read that review (from 2009 but I got to it in 2012) was that the wine only cost around €36. Even last week (in 2016) I picked this up for €34 – a classic example of the great value you can get, or of the scandalously low returns for wine making, depending on your point of view.

The wine is a deep chestnut brown in colour -and has a really atractive nose of shrivelled old black raisins and nuts – like a bag of party mix – and maybe just a bit of burnt barrel edge. Just a little bit of sweet figs maybe. 

On the palate it is relatively dry compared to that nose but still has a suggestion of sweetness – those old raisins again. Nice little bite of acidity and full of flavours – caramels fading to woodiness and barrle flavours like cigar box and tobacco, but not dusty or astringent, and a long, long finish that gets nuttier.

Fine and balanced for such an old wine and very drinkable – maybe I won’t have to worry about storing it after all.

Tasting the Barajuela project

~ sharquillo ~ 7 Comments

Wanted to jot down my thoughts and impressions of a fantastic tasting I did with Willy Perez last Friday in relation to a project I find fascinating (and a wine that I really love). 

As I have written about ad nauseam the Barajuela project is all about recovering the old school wines of Jerez that once ruled the world. This means big, concentrated wines with a clear identity quite distinct from the lighter “manzanilla” style of current wines. It means low yields, later harvests in several passes (first for brandy, then fino, then oloroso) a short period of asoleo or sun drying to further boost concentration and a focus in the cellar on the wine rather than the flor or barrel effects. (For example, unlike many modern finos with pronounced acetaldehide profiles here efforts were made to keep a balance with the wine’s other characteristics – a balance that is achieved despite a very high level of acetaldehide.) The wines are also terroir and vintage specific and, since single vintage wines age quite differently to their solera counterparts, the back label seeks to recover the old school “palmas” system of classification. 

The tasting could be broken down into three sections, each a nice illustration of what the project is all about. 

First up, we had a run at the mostos from 2015, exploring the effects of the maturity of the grapes in the different “passes” at harvesting. We tasted the mosto for brandy, the greenest, least developed fruit, harvested in early to mid August, the mosto from grapes harvested two or three weeks later, and the mosto for the fino, from fruit harvested a week later still. There was a clear progression in aroma, weight and flavour in the three wines: more and more honeyed on the nose (the mosto de fino in particular had a lovely nose that reminded me of the “cojonudo” pastries you get in the mountains North of Madrid) and, quite apart from the growing strength and weight, more and more (extremely ripe) melon on the palate. Obviously there was a big step from the first mosto to the second, but it was amazing to see the step from second to third – the difference that that selection and one week of sunshine had made. 

Next up was an exploration of the effects of the flor on those mostos (not that much flor – these botas were filled more than usual). The fourth wine was a 2014 mosto de fino, followed by a bottle of the 2013 Fino la Barajuela and a 2013 Palma (roughly speaking, the 2013 fino with six or so more months under flor). Again, the steps between the wines were as instructive as the wines themselves: the 2014 mosto was extraordinary compared to its 2015 equivalent with a noticeably full and mineral mouthfeel – real power and zing to it- the 2013 Fino had that brilliant balance of concentrated fruit and mineral grunt and the Palma was just a touch sharper in both salinity and in the fruit flavour. I would find it very hard to choose between the two 2013s – would love to have tasted them blind – but since I was asked I reckon the fino was dead right, with enough fleshy juice to it despite all that power. (There may also have been some effect from its time in the bottle.) As for the 2014, my mouth is literally watering at the prospect of when that is ready.

Then out came the lesser spotted 2013 Oloroso la Barajuela. This wine is from grapes harvested later still – important to remember this is a different wine from the same vines, not a continuation of the fino – and has another step up in concentration. Rather than under flor it has been “traditionally” aged (but not for very long, which I gather has been the source of some issues with the DO and the traditional classifications, hopefully soon to be resolved). The power and solidity of it is impressive – for now it just has an edge of burn and oxidation but you get a feeling that given time it will be capable of the most amazing full bodied, high register caramel flavours. No bones about it – it is an absolute beast.

We didn’t in fact finish there, we also tried a 2014 pedro ximenez, an excellent mineral and refreshing 2015 Tintilla de Rota rosé and the 2015, 2014 and 2013 Tintilla de Rota reds, but by then my mind was wandering (I even left my notes behind before remembering just in time and dashing back in). It was a brilliant tasting  in which I learned a lot, and even better with some really cracking wines and a few laughs thrown in. Blessed are the rulebreakers and long live the new old school.

Ramiro Ibañez in Surtopia – Day 1 

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I have a total of 25 pages of notes from the two days that Ramiro Ibañez was doing the butling at Surtopia. It was not just interesting, it was fascinating. Will take me a good while to write them all up but no time like the present etc.

The first night involved five wines chosen to accompany some fatty, meaty tuna dishes (at this stage the so-called “blogger” realizes that none of the 25 pages of notes refer to the food and hopes noone will notice the lack of detail). In fact I only have three pictures even …


At least I have some notes of the wines:

Wine #1 was Socaire 2014, a 100% palomino by Primitivo Collantes that I have been after for a while (in fact my first bottles were delived the same afternoon I went to dinner). 100% palomino from Finca Matalian, it is unfortified and has not spent time under flor but was fermented and aged for two years in botas that had formerly held Fino Arroyuelo. They were two years very well spent. The result is a beautiful dark gold colour and has a fantastic, lush nose that is blanc des blancs champagne first up, and gets more and more herbal – sweet herbs like rosemary or oregano – as it opens up. On the palate it is chalky and slightly saline without being zingy – austere minerals like a chablis. Long rather than wide, but wider than its little brother the Viña Matalian and a really interesting wine.

Wine #2 was the new edition of the 11540 Manzanilla. Whereas previous editions were selected from Barbadillo’s Solear, this fella is from legendary Sanlucar bodega Sanchez Ayala – from  1/46 of the original Gabriela Oro solera to be precise. Sanchez Ayala has been a happy hunting ground for exclusive bottlings in the past and the wines have a high acetaldehide style that is extremely attractive (and fashionable). This one has an average age of about five years and has been through 7 classes. It is a shade darker than the Socaire, a dark straw colour, and has a massive nose of hay bales, salty brine, roasted apples and spices. On the palate it is zingy, salty, with a suggestion of that baked apple but then a long, nutty finish. Really excellent again.

Wine #3 was the wine of the night for me: a Fino Amontillado Camborio. Fino from the legendary Camborio solera with those 10/11 years of biological ageing and that mineral structure that has been given a year of oxidation and has gained in character. Again a big acetaldehide profile of green apple over the sea air minerals of the fino but also touches of lemon on the nose. On the palate there is a suggestion of that green apple, then spices and herbs and a long, mouthwatering bitter almond finish. Really rich in feel and flavour but elegant too. Really superb.

Wine #4 was the only wine of the night that I had tried before – the Pandorga 2014, the stunning fruit bomb pedro ximenez  from la Panesa vineyard in Carrascal de Jerez. After a relatively cool growing season the grapes and 11 days of asoleo before fermentation in bota without any kind of temperature control. Fermentation lasted six weeks producing a wine that is 12º, has 270g of sugar, and more importantly has bags of fruit flavours and aromas including olives, apricots and orange marmalade. A delicious expression of year, terroir and fruit that has already become a classic.

Wine #5  was the “big dog” of the night, an old old Oloroso 1/12 from Almacenista Santiago. Really powerful, rustic, old school almacenista oloroso. It is a dark reddish brown in colour, with a cigar box woody nose and a really powerful, bitter palate. Real acidity and concentration and although it didn’t have any noticeable juicy sweetness neither was it astringent or dusty. Good salinity too but not over powering. No doubt about it: a fighting wine.


And that, as they say, was that for the first night (but not for my notes thereof – the remaining five pages of increasingly illiterate scrawl need much more work and reflection). Five really unique wines and a privilege to have been there.

 

Oloroso Pata de Gallina

~ sharquillo ~ 1 Comment

All day thinking about the 3 en rama but don’t have any at home. This will certainly do. Absolutely delicious.

The most appetising colour imaginable and toffee almonds on the nose – burnt butter and just a bit of smokiness. Nice, glycerine rich consistency – from whence it gets its name – and a really tasty mouthful.  Has a nice zingy buzz to it, then those crisp, burnt butter flavours, nice caramel centre and spicey and racey rather than bitter.

Love it – juicy, tasty and balanced.

Mons Urium in Taberna Palo Cortado

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Another great night yesterday in Taberna Palo Cortado, this time to taste the wines of Bodegas Urium, a small, family run bodega that is one of the newest faces in Jerez but to judge from last night one of the most passionate.

The bodega has been around for “centuries”, formerly, as an almacenista (one of the “faceless”  winemakers of Jerez, as one of the guys put it last night) and is located on Calle Muro, aka “Wall Street”. The bodega is run by Alonso and Rocio Ruiz, a father and daughter team from a family from the town of Moguer, in Huelva (known to the Romans as “Mons Urium”, from whence the name). Alonso fulfilled a lifelong dream – learnt in turn from his own father – when they acquired the bodega in 2009, acquiring not only a historic bodega but, more importantly, its contents. In total around 500 botas of wines, many of them very old and, to judge by last night, very fine.

Last night we had five wines: a very nice fino en rama – fruitful, yeasty and juicy – with around eight years under flor, and four VORS wines with an average age of 45 years – the amontillado, oloroso and palo cortado, pictured above, and a very youthful tasting 45 year old Pedro Ximenez.  Five excellent wines – I particularly liked the fino and the punchy, saline oloroso, but the amontillado was elegant and smokey and the palo cortado had a bit of spirit to it.

More importantly, we also had the chance to meet Rocio and one got a clear impression of a project that was moving in the right direction. Having trained with none other than Luis Perez she has a very uncluttered, balanced approach to winemaking that was as free from blarney as it was from unnecessary formalism: wine making with wine at its center, with the goal of making wine that people can drink. It was fascinating to hear her talk about the gradual progress in tasting, assessing and classifying mostos and wines, and the efforts to imprint their own style on the old “jewels” they had inherited. It all sounded like hard work, but despite that there was a lot of laughter and enthusiasm that was captivating.

All in all, another terrific evening in Taberna Palo Cortado and a real pleasure to meet one of the young winemakers pushing the region forward.