Lustau Sherry Tasting with Cristina Bilbao Lustau brand Ambassador

"Wine, it's in my veins and I can't get it out." - Burgess Meredith

Our friends from Europvin and Lustau are back to give us a refresher course on one of the most complex and interesting fortified wines from the south of Spain, Sherry.

I will never forget my first trip to Spain and my visit to Jerez.  These wines are made with one of the most unique techniques in the world of wine called the solera system and many of the wines that are contained in the bottles here are up to 15 years old before they are bottled!

These Soleras stand three high and the sherry is pulled from the bottom cask which is then refilled with the wines from the cask on top and the new wines are added again every year to fill up the very top barrels.  This process makes a multi layered wine that has an incredible diversity with foods.

Join us as we experience a complete range of this magical elixir with Cristina Bilbao from one of the region’s top producers Lustau.   Wine Watch Caterings Toni Lampasone will be making a few small courses to accompany the tasting wines.  The fee for this tasting is $45 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463.

Lustau Sherry Tasting with Cristina Bilbao Lustau brand Ambassador

Friday, May 2, 2014

7:00 PM

NV Lustau Dry Amontillado Los Arcos Sherry     

Price: $17.25 Sale $15.18

Aged for 8-10 years and the wine is under the flor for 4 years as a fino, Los Arcos is one of the bodegas that they took over with cathedral like arches.  Palomino grapes from the white chalky soils.  Has an amber color with toffee, walnut aromas, sundried raisins, dates and a light briny character to the nose.  Very intense on the tongue with a burst of flavors, dried fruits, brown spice and that briny notes through the finish.  Finish 40+    Excellent            

NV Lustau Almacenista Palo Cortado de Jerez Solera Matured by Vides Jerez de la Frontera     

Price: $36.75       Sale $32.34

They both start life as a fino and then Palo Cortado exhibs traits of Oloroso, when they found a barrel that was different the put a white slash or cut to mark this, only 1 out of 1000 would make this cut, a very rare style of Sherry.  A more matured wine it is aged for around 15 years on average , dried tobacco spice, almond and dried golden raisin fruit.  Very rich and intense on the tongue with a host of that dried fruit a bit of a dried meat like nuance and briny and nutty notes at the end.  Finish 45+ Excellent +        

NV Lustau Oloroso Don Nuno Sherry     

Price: $23.00       Sale $20.24

This wine is in the solera for 12-14 years and has a bit more sweetness to the nose and a bit more robust than the Palo Cortado sandy based soils and usually they know that they are making an Oloroso when the solera is started so they do not have the flor contact of the Amontillado and Palo Cortado.  Dates and fig like fruit with notes of hazelnuts and almond notes to the bouquet very full and rich.  Lovely intensity on the tongue with just a note of sweetness, a bit hot at the end with lots of brown spice and a briny quality to the finish.  Finish 40+         Excellent            

NV Lustau East India Solera Sherry         

Price: $27.75       Sale $24.42

This is a blend of 15% Pedro Ximenez and 85% Palomino and this is the only house that makes a crème sherry style that is aged longer after these two wines are mixed.  Maple and dried raisin fruit to the nose with exotic brown spices and nutty aromas.  Nice sweetness on the tongue with a smooth and creamy texture and a firm hand of acidity cleaning things up on the finish.  Finish 40+      Excellent

NV Lustau Pedro Ximenez San Emilio

Price: $26.25       Sale $23.10

They are late harvested and the 7-10 days on the mats depending on the temperature, around 30% residual sugar here, very sweet, figs, dates and raisins with notes of fudge and brown spices very rich and decadent bouquet of aromas.  The wines are 10-12 years on average, there is no date on the bottle but there is a code on the back that tells you the year and day of the year where the wine was drawn from cask.  Sweet and velvety on the tongue with layers of succulent fruit and wonderful freshness through the finish.  Finish 50+         Excellent +        

Menu

Manchego & Drunken Goat Cheeses, Spanish Olives & Jamon

Tortilla Espanola – Spanish potato omelet with Romesco Sauce

Oxtail Stew with Crunchy Rustic Bread

The fee for this tasting is $45 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463.

A bit about our host Cristina Bilbao Alonso

Cristina Bilbao Alonso of the Caballero Group is Brand Ambassador for Lustau. She manages the US and South American Markets. Cristina has been in the wine business for over seven years and travels all over the world promoting Lustau Sherry. She has worked in three different wineries, Barbadillo, Aecovi and now Lustau. Cristina is also certified by Sherry Educators in Consejo Jerez D.O.

As the U.S.Brand Ambassador for Lustau, she conducts educational seminars and hosts on-premise and off-premise tastings. She develops and maintains relationships with key retailers and buyers to improve the visibility and increase sales for all of Lustau Sherry.

Emilio Lustau: History and Innovation

Emilio Lustau S.A. was founded in 1896 by Don José Ruiz-Berdejo. It was a humble beginning: Don José, a secretary in the courts of justice, used to cultivate the vineyards at his estate “Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza”, where he stored and aged the wines and afterwards sold them to the larger exporting companies. He was in fact what is known as an “almacenista”.

In 1940, his son-in-law Don Emilio Lustau Ortega moved the bodega to the Santiago district, in the old quarter of Jerez. There, in buildings which formed a part of the ancient Moorish city wall, he expanded the business gradually, still as an “almacenista”.

During the seventies the company continued expanding. The first step was building new bodegas at the family estate “Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza”. Then, at the beginning of the eighties and under the management of Rafael Balao, Lustau became one of the most innovative companies in Jerez. Rafael Balao had the intuition that Lustau had to be at the forefront of quality. His ideas  combined tradition and innovation and carved out the way for identifying Lustau with quality and prestige.

The Lustau Solera Reserva range was created from the original Lustau stocks from its beginnings as an “almacenista”. These stocks were joined by a fine selection of Sherry wines from different “almacenistas”, consisting of very special wines from small independent wine-producers, to be offered to select clients. These Sherries represent some of the best wines of the area.

In 1988 Lustau made a further step towards innovation introducing a new bottle design for its wines. The elegant dark bottle with sloping shoulders is exclusive to the company, distinguishing Lustau from other Sherry producers.

In 1990 Emilio Lustau S.A. was acquired by the Luis Caballero Group of Companies, which produces fine liqueurs and spirits such as the renowned Ponche Caballero, the best selling liqueur in Spain. This gave Emilio Lustau important financial support and the opportunity to further develop and expand.

In June 2000 the company acquired a complex of six bodegas covering  a total area of 20.000 m2,  which had belonged to the company Domecq. These buildings underwent a complete restoration in the years 2001and 2002. Nowadays, they house all the wines of Emilio Lustau S.A.

In June 2008, Lustau acquired former Domecq historical and iconic sherry brands La Ina, Botaina, Río Viejo and Viña 25. The agreement included the purchase of the "soleras" of these wines, totalling 4,000 butts of wine which are preserved and maintained according to traditional sherry ageing methods.

In spite of this evolution the company still holds the same philosophy: to pursue the best quality in its wines and to offer the market the largest range of Sherries.  This criteria has allowed us to progress in the past, and it continues to be our challenge for the future.