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.