Almacenistas
in Detail
Some of the bodegas of Jerez are huge buildings
but tucked away in the maze of small side streets of the Sherry
towns are little bodegas, housing maybe a few hundred butts. These
are the bodegas of the Almacenistas; the guardians of the traditions
of maturing Sherry. The name means a stockholder and an Almacenista
is a stockholder who buys Sherry or 'must' from farmers.
The Almacenista stores and matures it in his bodega,
before selling to Lustau, drawing on a time-honoured relationship,
handed down from father to son.
Being an Almacenista is a labour of love. The small scale of the
business and the slow, painstaking way in which the butts of wine
are allowed to mature at their own pace, means there are no easy
fortunes here.
For most Almacenistas, the love of Sherry is their
reward. They are business men, professional men in other walks
of life who love Sherry enough to take pleasure from creating
fine wines.
It was the firm of Emilio Lustau which was responsible
for giving Almacenistas their rightful place in the Jerez region.
They recognised that certain small quantities of Sherry were of
such high quality that to lose them in bigger blends would be
a tragedy. Consequently in 1981, to give credit to the Almacenistas,
they began bottling and selling these special wines as a range
of Almacenista Sherries and the name of each individual Almacenista
appears alongside that of Lustau on the label of the wine.
The number of butts forming a Solera, or fully
mature wine, of each individual Almacenista Sherry is also indicated
on the label i.e.1/10 means that the wine originates from a Solera
of ten butts.
Vides
Almacenista, Jerez de la
Frontera
Vides S.A. was founded by Don Tomas Domecq Rivero
in 1958. It is a classic Almacenista Sherry bodega located just
a few yards from the main Lustau cellars and offices in the old
Santiago quarter of Jerez. Today, Don Tomas' grandson, Don Fernando
Leon Manjon Domecq owns the bodega. Of course Domecq is a well-known
name in Jerez de la Frontera but the Almacenista Company, Vides
S.A. has no connection with the House of Pedro Domecq.
Owned by the same family is a single vineyard
called "Esparta" in the Carrascal district. Here, some
800 Sherry butts of Palo Cortado and Oloroso wines are aged. The
Carrascal district, just north of Jerez, is famous for the quality
of the Oloroso and Palo Cortado wines produced there from the
Palomino grape. The soil is the finest Albariza or chalk. Although
there are some Fino Sherry soleras produced from grapes purchased
in the Balbaina district, the speciality of Vides is Palo Cortado
and above all Oloroso.
The soleras owned by Vides are some 15 to 20 years
old. The wines are nothing short of being quite superb with a
wonderful intense rich bouquet but at the same time promising
great elegance and finesse. On the palate they are dry concentrated
and rich but also soft and stylish with enormous length. These
are wines to be sipped and contemplated over, best after a meal,
like vintage port. A fine Palo Cortado and Oloroso can also be
wonderful with cheese, as the rich flavours are strong enough
to avoid domination by a fairly strong cheese.
Manuel Cuevas Jurado
Almacenista, Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Don Manuel Cuevas Jurado was an important grocery
wholesaler in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, home to a large number of
"Almacenistas". He started his activities as an Almacenista
in 1950, when he purchased a small bodega "Nuestra Señora
del Pilar", with soleras established by Hermanos Mergelina
back in 1889.
It is natural for a grocer to become an Almacenista
in Sanlúcar as, for centuries, the locals have paid for their
groceries with wine. Don Manuel had another good reason for owning
his own bodega. Four generations of his family had owned vineyards
in the Callejuelas district, near Sanlúcar, one of the finest
production zones for Manzanilla with the best "albariza"
soil.
When Don Manuel retired, his son Manuel Cuevas
Gálvez took over both the grocery and the Almacenista activities,
continuing the business in Calle Trabajaderos with great enthusiasm.
The street consists almost entirely of bodegas and warehouses
belonging to the Cuevas family, many of which are very old and
attractive buildings, with shady patios and picturesque corners.
When Don Manuel Cuevas Jurado died last year,
in his nineties, his son and grandsons converted the business
into a limited company, under the name Manuel Cuevas Jurado S.L.
in memory of the founder. The Cuevas family is the sole source
of Manzanilla supplied to Lustau and their stocks of 2,500 butts
provide Manzanilla Fina, Manzanilla Pasada and the famed, but
rare, Manzanilla Amontillada de Sanlúcar.
Don Manuel Cuevas Gálvez, who has an infectious
enthusiasm when speaking about Manzanilla, also control the grocery
business, now run on a daily basis by his three sons. Family and
business discipline calls for meetings with them even on Sunday
mornings, to exchange views on the progress of both activities.
Don Manuel is a keen farmer and enjoys the countryside
around Sanlúcar. He is to be found, at the end of a busy working
day, with a glass of chilled Manzanilla in his hand either in
his bodegas or in the typical local bars.
Snr Garcia Jurado produced two of Lustau's award
winning sherries in the International Wine Challenge 2002 - Manzanilla
Pasada and Manzanilla Amontillada.
Miguel Fontádez Florido
Almacenista, Jerez de la Frontera
The Florido family originates from Chipiona, a
town within the Sherry triangle. At the end of the last century,
Don Miguel's grandfather, Don Juan Florido Benítez, founded the
present family business. Through various inheritances the bodega
passed to Don Miguel, a chemist by trade, who kept it as a hobby
and today he is a highly respected Almacenista in the Sherry trade.
Don Miguel takes pride
in the unique 'sacristía' located behind his pharmacy in the Plaza
de las Angustias in Jerez The 'sacristía' is also a well known
rendezvous for antique lovers. Strange you might say but all becomes
clear as you are led behind the counter, past the ailing Jerezanos
collecting prescriptions and assistants in white coats, the scene
is so transformed that you wonder if they pump psychotropic medication
through the air conditioning. Señor Fontádez's 'sacristía' is
a maze of rooms containing collections of ancient relics, Egyptian
pottery, pro-fascist posters from the 1930s, a wardrobe full of
musty hats - military, matador, mitres included - large sculptures,
wood carvings of bull-fights and ancient wine-up gramophones.
After stopping to admire Señor Fontádez's amazing
antique collection, you are led behind a curtain through an ancient
wooden door into the deepest recess of the building, a tiny bodega
containing 20 or so barrels. Again, the walls are littered with
rusty agricultural tools and faded pictures of his ancestors.
At this point you will be poured a glass of amontillado from the
Solera, a daily morning ritual for Señor Fontádez.
Sherries of this quality are a social phenomenon:
stylistically unaffected by fashion and an integral part of Andalucian
culture. Señor Fontádez does not invite people to visit him but
is very happy to receive those who want to see him. In the same
way, Lustau offers the pure and original product without compromise
to those who want to experience 'the real thing'.
Don Miguel's bodega holds stocks of Fino, Amontillado
and Oloroso Sherries. Of Don Miguel's stocks you can only find
the Amontillado de Jerez in the UK but is well worth finding.
Juan García Jarana
Almacenista, Jerez de la Frontera
Lustau Almacenista Oloroso Pata de Gallina 1/68
is aged in a Solera of fine sherry owned by Juan García Jarana,
whose bodega is located close to Lustau in the old Santiago quarter
of Jerez de la Frontera. The quality of Sr García Jarana's sherries
is well known and his stocks include small soleras of Fino, Amontillado,
Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez. Lustau selected the Pata de Gallina
Oloroso sherry back in 1989 and subsequently it has become one
of the most popular wines in the Lustau Almacenista range.
Sr García Jarana's bodega, known as the Bodega
del Algibe, is small, charming and picturesque. It was purchased
by Sr García Jarana in 1979 from the Balbas de los Ríos family
who founded the bodega over a hundred years ago in the late nineteenth
century.
As with most of our Almacenistas, the making of
wine is more of a hobby than an economic enterprise for Sr García
Jarana. His wines are principally given as gifts to his many business
associates, family and friends. Sr García Jarana is a very busy
and wealthy businessman, running a company called "Two Wheels"
which represents many of the Japanese and Italian motorcycle manufacturers
in the area. A motorcycle is a popular mode of transport in towns
and anyone who has been to Jerez cannot fail to notice the large
number of noisy little motorcycles roaring up and down the narrow
streets.
Another of Sr García Jarana's interests is sponsoring
young riders in the Jerez Grand Prix motorcycle racing, held in
May each year.
José Luis González Obregón
El Puerto de Santa María
José Luis began his almacenista in 1959 as a hobby
after retiring from his eminent post of 'Capataz General' (traditional
cellarmaster) to a sherry shipper. He realised the potential of
a close but independent relationship with Lustau in the early
1980s and this has continued with his nephew Manuel González Verano.
The bodega contains many different soleras (all
labelled del Puerto indicating their home town) and our chosen
amontillado is particularly tiny at only 10 butts in total.
Snr Gonzalez Obregón produces the International
Wine Challenge Gold Medal winning Amontillado
del Puerto sold by Lustau.
Angel Zamorano
Angel
Zamorano, an entrepreneur with a multitude of business interests,
has owned a small bodega of some 300 butts in the centre of town
since 1975. His Oloroso is one of the jewels to be found and
won a Silver Medal in the International Wine Challenge in 2002.
Angel Zamorano's career has centred mainly around
his business consultancy and like Lustau's other Almacenistas
his business interests include a presence in the grocery ad agricultural
sectors.
Angel Zamorano has an insatiable urge to learn
and success so it is unsurprising that travelling abroad is high
on his list of hobbies, during his many travels, Angel Zamorano
has learned much about different cultures within these countries,
which has contributed to the success of his own business.
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