Blind Fino/Manzanilla Sherry Tasting, here are my rankings.

3 - Hidalgo la Gitana - Manzanilla Pasada

I apparently like Finos over Manzanillas. La Guita was so fruity and out of place for me, it was missing that salty nutty aroma that is critical for this style of sherry for me. The Pasada from Hidalgo La Gitana was complex, but not something I could have more than a glass of at any one time. The En Rama from Equipo Navazos was very savory and salty, with citrus and nutty notes. The Innocente was balanced and complex.

 Blind Fino/Manzanilla Sherry Tasting, here are my rankings

Lustau - Amontillado del Castillo Almacenista Antonio Caballero y Sobrinos (94 pts)

ℹ️ This wine is 💯 Palomino. This wine is from an Almacenista ( aka "Stockist Bodega" or "Aging Bodega," which means that they mature the wines in their Bodega, and then these wines are sold by a "Shipping Bodega" in this case Lustau. Almacenista Antonio Caballero y Sobrinos is located in El Puerto de Santa María. The solera only consists of 38 butts. The wine is aged under Flor for an average of 4 years and then oxidatively for an average of 14 years.

👁 Medium brown color with an orange hue.

👃 Pronounced intensity on the nose. Aromas of rattan wood furniture, seafoam, salted toffee, toasted walnut, salted hazelnut, orange rind, sultana, dried apricot, dried fig, and peat (iodine).

👄 The wine is dry, medium acidity, high alcohol (21.5%), and medium+ body. The palate is distinctly salty, toasted walnuts, oyster brine, and salted toffee, but there is a slight nutmeg spice as well. A long length finish of seafoam, toasted walnut, dried fruit, and nutmeg spice.

🔔 If you love Sherry, then you should seek this out at your earliest convenience. The aromas are intoxicating (warning - so is the wine at 21.5%), and the palate is extremely layered and complex. Everything culminates in the finish of the wine that goes on for 90+ seconds. Amontillado is my favorite style of Sherry because the wines have the best of both worlds from biological and oxidative aging.  Amontillado del Castillo is a stellar example from Lustau. 🤩

 Lustau - Amontillado del Castillo Almacenista Antonio

Lustau Almacenista Virtual Tasting and Interview with Sergio Martínez Verdugo

🎙 Join my Instagram Live interview with Sergio Martínez Verdugo, the Winemaker and Cellar Master at Bodegas Lustau, on Monday, March 29th, at 9:00 am PST / 5:00 pm CET. Sergio and I will discuss the history of Lustau, discussing their origins as an Almacenista to Shipping Bodega. We can discuss how Almacenista wines were used classically in the region. Then we will discuss what led to the creation of these bottlings for Lustau in 1981. Each wine is a unique style of Sherry that we will quickly explain before diving into what makes these wines so unique compared to regular bottlings of similar style wines. Finally, we will discuss where is the Terroir of Sherry in the Bodega or the vineyard.

🍷 We will taste Almacenista Manuel Cuevas Jurado Manzanilla Pasada de Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Almacenista Antonio Caballero y Sobrinos Amontillado del Castillo, and Almacenista Juan García Jarana Oloroso "Pata de Gallina". Please join our Instagram Live and participate in the conversation. Don't forget to click the reminder in the stories.

 Lustau Almacenista Virtual Tasting and Interview with

Albariza soil of Jerez is one of the many factors of Terroir for the Palomino grape in Sherry. This is my hand crushing a block of Albariza soil into powder in the Macharnudo vineyard of

ℹ️ The soil gets its name from the Latin word Albus, which means white. When you drive around Jerez you can see the white hills covered in vines. So why are they white? Well we refer to them as chalk and while not "technically" chalk they are geologically pretty close. They are limestone rich soils with large percentages of Calcium Carbonate, which is formed from decomposed marine fossils. There are many sub types (with unique names) of Albariza soils that are based on the percentages of calcium carbonate, limestone, clay, and sand·

☔️ People tend to think of Jerez as a dry place, but it gets a fair amount of rain (600 mm per year), but it all happens in the late fall to early spring. Since irrigation is forbidden, this is where the magic of the soil comes in. Albariza soil can retain up to 34% of it's weight in water. Also, once the top part of the soil dries it creates a caked layer that slows the rest of water underneath from evaporating. This gives vines access to water for the other half of the year. Vineyard managers may also create holes or banks in the soil to trap the rains after harvest resulting in the vineyards looking like white rolling waves. The soil is usually tilled several times a year and honestly is super soft with a lot of give when walking on it·

Special thanks to the team at Valdespino for hosting me 🙏·

 Albariza soil of Jerez is one of the many factors of

Blind Sherry flight of Amontillado, Palo Cortado, and Oloroso - Bottles in order of rank. 1. Lustau Los Arcos Amontillado was the cheapest of the group but had a lot of hazelnut and citrus going on. 2. Emilio Hidalgo Gobernador Oloroso was the group favorite peppery and dried fruit. 3. Valdespino Viejo CP Palo Cortado 4. Gonzalez Byass Vina AB Amontillado Seco 5. Barbadillo Cuco Oloroso.

 Blind Sherry flight of Amontillado, Palo Cortado, and

Lustau -  Olorosso "Pata de Gallina" Almacenista Juan García Jarana (92 pts)

ℹ️ This wine is 💯 Palomino. This wine is from an Almacenista ( aka "Stockist Bodega" or "Aging Bodega," which means that they mature the wines in their Bodega, and then these wines are sold by a "Shipping Bodega" in this case Lustau. Almacenista Juan García Jarana is located in Jerez de la Frontera. The solera only consists of 38 butts. The wine is aged oxidatively for an average of 15 years.

👃 Medium+ intensity on the nose. Aromas of old wood furniture, dried tobacco, brown sugar, caramel walnut, orange rind, prune, dried fig, and leather shoes polish.

👄 The wine is dry, medium acidity, high alcohol (20%), and full body. The palate is exceptionally viscous, like olive oil and some cinnamon spice. A medium+ length finish of dried tobacco, dried fig, and cinnamon spice.

🔔 Olorosso "Pata de Gallina" is quite complex and punchy on the nose, while it is coating and spicy on the palate. This is not recommended for the inexperienced sherry drinker, as it could be pretty polarizing. The dried fruit notes take a backseat to the more dominant nutty and tobacco flavors by the solera aging. Another thought-provoking wine from Lustau's Almacenista range.

 Lustau -  Olorosso "Pata de Gallina" Almacenista Juan

Lustau - Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda 3 En Rama Spring 2020 (90 pts)

ℹ️ This wine is 💯 Palomino Fino that is biologically aged sherry from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain. This sherry style is known as Manzanilla and can only be labeled this way if it comes from Sanlúcar de Barrameda. En Rama, which loosely translates as "Raw Sherry," meaning that it is the closest you can get to being straight from the cask. This is the most delicate form of Sherry. This Manzanilla is aged under flor in American oak casks for five years and bottled without any treatment. This wine may be hazy or have sediment due to not being filtered.

👃 Pronounced intensity on the nose. Aromas of salted Marcona almonds, sea breeze, hay, yeast, bread dough, oatmeal, lemon zest, yellow apple, lanolin, and chamomile.

👄 The wine is bone-dry, low acidity, medium- alcohol (15.5%) for fortified wine, and medium body. The flavors carry through on the palate with a chalky texture. A medium length finish of salted almonds, hay, and chamomile.

🔔 This wine is a yearly En Rama release from Lustau, which offers a unique look at how the location of Sanlúcar de Barrameda impacts the wine during aging. Often Manzanilla can be too light and delicate for me, but this En Rama robustly offers up these flavors. If you are into sherry, then I highly recommend trying the trio together. If you are new to sherry then I wouldn't recommend starting here.

 Lustau - Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda 3 En Rama Spring

Lustau - Manzanilla Pasada Almacenista Manuel Cuevas Jurado (93 pts)

ℹ️ This wine is 💯 Palomino. This wine is from an Almacenista ( aka "Stockist Bodega" or "Aging Bodega," which means that they mature the wines in their Bodega, and then these wines are sold by a "Shipping Bodega" in this case Lustau. Almacenista Manuel Cuevas Jurado is located in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The solera only consists of 80 butts. The wine is aged under Flor for an average of 7 years.

👃 Pronounced intensity on the nose. Aromas of salted Marcona almonds, sea breeze, dandelion, hay, yeast, bread dough, baked apple, lemon zest, salted butter, olive oil, and chrysanthemum tea.

👄 The wine is dry, medium acidity, medium+ alcohol (17%), and medium body. The palate starts with dried florals and salty notes but then transitions to oxidative baked apple notes. A medium+ length finish of salted Marcona almond, dandelion, and baked apple.

🔔  Another stunning bottle Manzanilla from Bodegas Lustau. The entire Almacenista range is like the greatest hits of Lustau. Many Manzanilla sherries can be piercing with salty and green apple notes. This Manzanilla Pasada has benefited from the slight oxidation in the later years of the seven years in the Solera. The nose is more complex and multidimensional than a regular Manzanilla, and the palate has a little extra weight and mellowness to it. Worth exploring these if you enjoy sherry.

 Lustau - Manzanilla Pasada Almacenista Manuel Cuevas Jurado

🇪🇸 Are you a Sherry lover ❤️ or a Sherry hater 💔?

These are En Rama Sherries, which loosely translates as "Raw Sherry," meaning that is the closest you can get to being straight from the cask. This category only exists for biologically (Flor) aged Sherries like Fino and Manzanilla. I will note that En Rama Sherries are still lightly filtered. Just to make sure the wine doesn't go wrong in the bottle.

Every year, I buy these three wines from Lustau

 because they are the only Bodega with facilities in each city of the Sherry Triangle. I would argue that much of the "Terroir" of Sherry is more about the unique factors of where it is aged instead of the vineyard location. Anyone that is Sherry curious should check these three bottlings out to do a comparative tasting.

 🇪🇸 Are you a Sherry lover ❤️ or a Sherry hater 💔? Have you

Blind Tasting a mystery wine. This wine was clearly sherry and clearly very old. My first intuition was Fernando de Castilla Antique Fino, but the color was that of an Amontillado. Well it was a fino, just one that was bottled in the early 80s (1980 or 1981) from the now defunct Bodega Agustin Blazquez Carta Blanca Fino, that was left hidden in someone's cellar for decades. Super geeky and very compelling. Complexity was off the charts, thank you to our host Aaron for finding this rare gem.

 Blind Tasting a mystery wine. This wine was clearly sherry

Which size wine glass do you use for Sherry❓·

 gave me his thoughts on how to best enjoy the amazing aromatics of Sherry. Apparently bigger is better 😉·

 Which size wine glass do you use for Sherry❓· After a

Interview with Sergio Martínez Verdugo, the Winemaker and Cellar Master with Mario Muñoz González, Portfolio Manager, at Bodegas Lustau. We discussed the history of Lustau, from their origins as an Almacenista to becoming a Shipping Bodega. We discussed how Almacenista wines were used classically in the region. Then we discussed what led to the creation of these bottlings for Lustau in 1981. We talked about what makes Almacenista wines so unique compared to regular bottlings of similar style wines.

🍷 We tasted Almacenista Manuel Cuevas Jurado Manzanilla Pasada, Almacenista Antonio Caballero y Sobrinos Amontillado del Castillo, and Almacenista Juan Garcia Jarana Oloroso Pata de Gallina. Special thank you Mario for translating everything and adding his own insights. Thank you to Sergio for making the time to explain the wines and Winemaking. Finally thank you the support of

 Interview with Sergio Martínez Verdugo, the Winemaker and

📍Valle de La Orotava, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain🇪🇸

🍇 90% Listán Blanco / 10% Torontés Volcánico

I was first introduced to the unique wines of Tenerife last summer. And wow, that blew my mind! Since then, wines made from Listán Blanco has been among my favorites, and this one is no exception. They are complex and distinctive - quite their own.

- There’s a lot of synonyms for Listan Blanco. The most well known is Palomino made for sherry.

This small unique family winery, located on the northern part of the island, has made wine with their own label since 2006 with a minimized human intervention philosophy.

They own 11he in total ranging from 350 to 750 metres above sea level, moreover, they work closely together with other local vine-farmers bringing extra 15he to harvest from. All on volcanic soil.

Trenzado is a village wine harvested from +100 years old vines, made with wild native yeast, fermented with whole clusters and left on the lees (40% in concrete tanks with a few days skin contact, 60% in 500 liter foudres without skins).

It’s aged 9 months in used French foudres (20hl. to 45hl.).

The aromas are crazy and extremely reductive (lots of sour cabbage to begin with). Leave it to breath for half an hour.

Afterwords, lovely scents of roasted sesame, citrus, smoky gunpowder, oily train rail yard, brown-baked croissant, sea breeze, petrol, yeast and crushed volcanic stone appear.

The palate is medium-bodied, a bit oily with an insane, mouth cleaning acidic level and great minerality. Grape, bitter pomelo, lemon peel, croissant, butter, salt and flint.

Summarized, the nose is insanely interesting (maybe too interesting for some people…). The palate is milder and delicious. An addictive wine for sure! And for the price...🤯

 ⭐️92/100⭐️ Suertes del Marqués Trenzado, 2019 📍Valle de La

𝑷𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒚-𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒕 1𝒆𝒓 𝑪𝒓𝒖 “𝑳𝒆𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒔”, 1988

📍Puligny-Montrachet, Côte d’Or, Bourgogne, France🇫🇷

A tiny producer who’s only making a very small amount of white wine from very small holdings (e.g. 0,16 ha of Les Combettes). Only a Bourgogne Blanc, one Saint-Aubin, one Chassagne-Montrachet and four Puligny-Montrachet are produced.

I don’t know much about this winery. Not even, if it’s still in function.

“Les Combettes” is one of Puligny-Montrachet's most northerly Premier Cru climats. While not as steep as the vineyards higher on the hill, Les Combettes still benefits from a gentle slope, which gives it a good aspect to the morning sunlight, as well as good groundwater drainage.

Les Combettes are often considered as a kind of crossover between Puligny and Meursault, displaying features of both

Fermented in oak barrels and steel tanks, then matured in oak barrels (20-30% new) for 12-14 months.

This old fella is revealing some aged, plump and slightly oxidized aromas of brown windfallen apples (with a hint of fresh red apples too) caramel, dried apricot, red apple skin, dry hay, roasted nuts, honey, croissant and yeast. Smells like a flor-wine.

The palate is medium(+)-bodied with a smooth, vibrant acidity. It’s feels bone dry like a Fino Sherry in a bit odd way (probably because of the oxidation). Notes of vanilla poached pear, burnt caramel, orange peel, lemongrass, hay and wet stones.

Of course way past it’s peak and not very balanced, but still fun to taste. It reminds me of Fino Sherry and Vin Jaune. Drink these old whites with cheese.

 ⭐️87/100⭐️ 𝑷𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒚-𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒕 1𝒆𝒓 𝑪𝒓𝒖 “𝑳𝒆𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒔”, 1988

The winery of Florent Rouve, run by Jean Rijckaert, are based just outside Mâcon in Bourgogne, from where they produce local classics such as Mâcon-Lugny, Viré-Clissé and Mâcon-Villages from their 4 hectares of land. But, they also have 5,5 hectares of land in Jura to take care of.

The viticulture are focused on sustainability and low human intervention, aiming for a classic, clean expression from the wines.

Vin Jaune, “yellow wine”, is made from late harvest Savagnin grapes, which undergo a slow and complete fermentation and rests 72 months in small oak casks. There’s no racking and topping up during the elevage, which results in ≈30% evaporation of the wine and the occurrence of a film of yeast called “voile” (same as “flor” in Spanish Sherry) that protects (not totally) the wine from oxidation. The combination of oxidation and the yeast particles are the fundamental elements of developing the flavors of Vin Jaune. It’s bottled in the special Clavelin bottle with only 62cl. The lost evaporated part is called “the angels’ share”.

From the very first smell, your not in doubt that you’re dealing with a voile/flor-wine. The aromas are very expressive with classic heavy oxidized notes - brown moldy windfallen apple, raisin, ripe pear, caramel, banana peel, warm hayloft, fresh fennel, roasted hazelnuts, wet gravel and a mild hint of curry.

The palate is bone dry and medium-bodied (slightly oily) offering dried pear and apricot, wet wood, orange peel and the special oxidized taste occurring from the voile.   It’s not super developed on the tongue yet but the nose is delicious.

For the price, this is a great Vin Jaune, but it lacks a bit of “everything” compared to the big boys in the game.