As advocates of ‘En Rama’ style sherries we were very pleased to discover that Lustau were joining in and releasing a range of their own unfiltered sherries. A fino from each town in the sherry triangle, Jerez, Sanlúcar and El Puerto Santa María.
For us the Fino from El Puerto is the stand-out. Just one barrel was selected for bottling from the top solera at the Bodega del Drago. The wine is aged just a mile from the sea giving the perfect conditions for the flor to thrive which imbues the wines with a salty, iodine, tangy richness. This is an almost ‘hybrid’ Fino, edging very close to the Manzanilla style of Sanlúcar. Being close to the sea means both cooler temperatures and higher humidity levels than those of Jerez, yet El Puerto Finos tend to be a little rounder and a touch softer than Manzanillas. This cracking Fino is a really exciting addition to the sherry landscape – but quantities are unsurprisingly limited – so catch it while you can and enjoy this delicious sherry over the summer.
The Cathedral-like Lustau bodega
For lovers of great wine and gastronomy this is a fascinating new edition to get your teeth into. Being unfiltered, nothing is lost from this extraordinary sherry – dark colour (for Fino) and richly textured you can sense the slow evolution which has led to the amazing complexity which is stunningly framed by the bright saline edge. A clever balance between weight and lift – simply delicious.
As we are now down to the last few bottles of this year’s brilliant Tio Pepe ‘en Rama’ it is a timely entrance for this new bottling, however, it won’t last long – so grab some quickly to avoid missing out!
Special opening offer while stocks last:
6 x half-litre bottles for £100 – delivered.
Or £17.50 per half-litre bottle, £16.50 as part of a case of 12 bottles – mixed or otherwise. To order: Please e-mail sales@leaandsandeman.co.uk or call 020 7244 0522 or through your usual L&S contact.