Antonio Barbadillo
Barbadillo is one of the historic sherry bodegas (founded in 1821) with a strong Spanish following but it is less well known in the United States. They have superb stocks of fine old sherries of all types: in Spain they have released a line of Reliquias—century old sherries, which retail for close to $250 a bottle. We tasted their everyday and premium wines—all excellent wines and great values —and decided they were so good they are well worth trying.

We are particularly enthusiastic about Barbadillo’s "Yellow Label" or prestige line of sherries. Even the least expensive of these—the "Eva" Cream and the Amoroso "San Rafael"—average more than 15 years of barrel aging. The other wines in range—the dry Amontillado "del Principe" Palo Cortado "Obispo Gascon" and Oloroso "Cuco" and rich sweet Pedro Ximenez "La Cilla"—average 25-35 years.

For the the US market Barbadillo has chosen not to take advantage of the recently enacted VOS and VORS designations, indicating wines whose average age is over 20 years and over 30 years respectively. But who can complain since they continue to make it possible to enjoy this outstanding line of sherries at prices less than half what many other bodegas are asking for their VOSs. We understand they have recently released at least one VOSs in Spain, but are not sure when and if it will arrive in the US.
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Pedro Domecq
Pedro Domecq is the one of the largest, and in Spain best known, sherry bodegas with a history going back to 1730. Their top Fino called "La Ina" (the name is a corruption of the Spanish cry to "Cha-a-a-rge!" - Ah-ina - from the time of Moorish wars) is widely considered the best of its kind. They have recently begun shipping their oldest and rarest sherries to the US. After literally years of trying, we were been able to secure one of the 10 cases of each which have been allocated to the entire country! These are among the most expensive, but also the rarest and best sherries we currently carry. They are rigorously traditional in style and singular in quality.
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Gonzalez Byass
Gonzalez Byass was voted greatest Spanish bodega of the 20^th century. They are best known for their classic benchmark "Tio Pepe" Fino, the perfect aperitif but also a wonderful table wine with fried foods and charcuterie. The bodega has made its range of Very Old Rare Sherries or VORS—the designation indicates wines of at least 30 years average age— now available in the US and to encourage new drinkers, they offer the wines in half bottles. Occasionally, they also release a spectacular, but very limited and expensive single vintage Oloroso, but only in Europe. Although the quantities of the vintage release are very, very small we hope that one day they will be exported to the US. Their most recent single vintage release is 1979.

All four of the VORS wines are superlative: the powerful, nutty dry Amontillado "del Duque", the stunningly complex and long off-dry Palo Cortado "Apostoles", the warm, rich and enveloping Oloroso Dulce "Matusalem" and the dense, thick, sweet Pedro Ximenez "Noë. At around $20 for an ultra-rare (only 50 cases of each bottling for the USA!) best-in-class wine of great age all from soleras dating back to the 19th and in some cases 18th Century, all are superlative values as well.

Amontillado "del Duque": deep gold in color, toasted almond and hazelnut, vanilla notes blended with smoke and lemon from the aging both under a flor of yeast and in older barrels, powerful, dry and nutty in the mouth with surprising acidity which fades into a rich, smoky and nutty finish.

Palo Cortado "Apostoles": amber color, concentrated fruit and aromas of oak, almond and pine nut mingle in the nose, the rich raisiny acidity and toasted nut flavors are offset by just a point of caramel sweetness, and everything merges into full, succulent finish which seems never to fade let alone disappear.

Oloroso Dulce "Matusalem": polished mahogany color, here raisin and prune aromas merge with cake spice and sweet wood, the attack is smooth, warm and sweet before the nut and wood flavors expand into a powerful palate sweeping peacock tail.

PX "Noë": opaque black with prune and dried fig notes in the warm nose. Very smooth, dense and very sweet on the attack with prune flavors from which emerge notes of chocolate, sweet wood and molasses and a balancing hint of cake spice and acidity. Has a warm, unending lip-smacking finish with amazing drinkability for a wine this sweet—a tour de force of smooth balance and complexity!
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Vinícola Hidalgo
Vinícola Hidalgo is the last word in traditional, family-owned and run bodegas in Spain. Founded in 1792 by José Pantaleón Hidalgo and still run today by his great-great-great-grandson. It’s policy has always been to produce estate-bottled wines in an area dominated by large negociant wineries.

All of the grapes used at Hidalgo come from its own 500 acres of Palomino vineyards located in the albariza chalk soils of Balbaína in Jerez and Miraflores in Sanlúcar where the Guadalquivir River meets the ocean and where the family's bodegas are located. Here, the constant Atlantic breezes and the moisture they carry make it possible for the characteristic flor yeast to continuously protect and enhance Hidalgo’s manzanillas, adding over the years a characteristic briny snap to the wines.

Hidalgo is best known for its flagship Manzanilla "La Gitana" (or gypsy girl), probably the best known manzanilla both in Spain and around the world. They also produce a outstanding range of sherry styles under the Napoleon label.

Most exciting of all are the miniscule lots of ancient family reserve sherries, made in an ultra-traditional dry style and aimed at the most knowledgeable sherry aficionados. Despite the fact that many of these treasures have 40 to 50 years of solera aging, Hidalgo has chosen not to market them under the new VOS and VORS designations (requiring 20 and 30 years aging respectively), preferring to continue to designate them modestly simply as Viejo (old) and Muy Viejo (very old). Do not be deceived: these are among the very greatest of all sherries. PJ Wine is proud to be able to offer a select few a chance to taste these relics of two centuries of family history. We should also mention that at a recent blind tasting in New York of all the greatest Palo Cortados (luxury cuvées not sold in the US were shipped from Spain), The Hidalgo Palo Cortado Viejo was the top-rated wine of the event.
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Emilo Lustau
Emilio Lustau enjoys a well-deserved reputation as the most progressive bodega in Jerez. Its forward thinking marketing style has positioned it as the leading exponent of sherry in the U.S. and it has played an important role in teaching American drinkers how to enjoy these wonderful wines. But behind the modern façade, Lustau is a historic winery and one which has been as important in safeguarding the traditions of Sherry as it has been in updating them.

The company that is now Emilo Lustau was founded in 1896 by Jose Ruiz-Berdejo y Veyan. At the time the company functioned as an Almacenista. Almacenistas are an institution unique to sherry: they function as negociants, producing and buying stocks of young wines which they then age or "warehouse" (Almacenista means, literally, "warehouser") in the traditional solera system. What makes Almacenistas special is that they do not have the right to bottle their wines. Instead, they sell wines in barrel to other, usually larger bodegas Embotelladoras who then sell the wines under their own names. In effect, the Almacenistas function as a guardians of a library of reserve wines into which the Embotelladoras can dip to access older sherries in a range of styles as needed to maintain the characteristic styles of their house brands.

In the 1950s the firm transformed itself into an embotelladora and assumed the Emilio Lustau name. New cellars were constructed in the ‘70s, and in the ’80s and ’90s under the management of Rafael Balao the company developed the creative profile it enjoys today and continued an expansion that culminated with the relocation to new central cellars in 2001.

Lustau now produces and markets a full range of sherry styles under its own name. Many of its brands have become classics of their types: in particular, their Oloroso "Emperatriz Eugenia" and their Moscatel "Emilin" represent an outstanding combination of quality and value.

Lustau has also helped keep alive styles of sherry which would otherwise have completely disappeared. Only Lustau offers a wine made from the rare red Tintilla de Rota grape, matured in soleras: a true rarity. And Lustau’s Vendimia Cream ’88 is the only single vintage sherry on the market today—although Gonzalez Byass occasionally releases their vintage Oloroso in Europe and some of the Montilla-Moriles producers release vintage dated PXs.

But what makes Lustau most special is its loyalty to its Almacenista roots. Alone among all Embotelladoras today, Lustau purchases barrels from other Almacenistas, bottles them unblended and then markets these bottles under the name of the Almacenista as part of a unique line of Almacenista sherries. Don’t miss your chance to try these extremely limited and outstanding sherries.

A final fascinating Almacenista tidbit: The label of each of these sherries carries an arrow—similar to arrows used in sherry bodegas to indicate the sequence in which the barrels in a solera should be topped up when removing wine for bottling. Above the arrow is a number indicating the number of barrels purchased by Lustau from the Almacenista and below it is a second number indicating the number of barrels in the solera.
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Sanchez Romate
This remarkable bodega is still owned by the same family which founded it 220 years ago in 1781. Although best known for its sherry based brandies (PJ's carries their excellent Cardenal Mendoza), the estate also owns vineyards in top sites and has extensive stocks of fine old sherries. They have a particularly high reputation in Spain as a producer of very rich sherries, especially the Cream and Pedro Ximenez styles. They have recently released small amounts of these treasures in the US for the first time, as Reservas Especiales in a matched collection of elegant, black, designer bottles. All are great values, especially since they've been aged at least 15 years.

NPU Amontillado: In Spain, this wine - made in the classic, very dry amontillado style which the Spanish favor - is Sanchez, Romate's most highly regarded bottling. Amber color; complex nose combining toasted nuts, smoke and vanilla; powerful, dry and balanced on the palate, with intense nutty and tangy flavors and a hint of fino saltiness in the lingering finish. The version released in the US is slightly sweeter for American tastes.

Iberia Cream: Deep mahogany in color, with a complex nose and palate combining vanilla, dried figs, hazelnuts and toffee, and a rich but not cloying finish which add notes of prunes and cacao powder to the initial flavors.

Cardenal Cisneros PX: Almost black in color, with an unctuous texture, a complex nose of prunes, roasted nut, and burnt orange, flavors of butterscotch, dried fruit and vanilla and mouthfilling finish which lasts at least a minute and gradually reveals layers of milk chocolate, smoke, burnt caramel and fine old wood highlights. A great value in top notch PX.

Very Rare Cream: From Sanchez, Romate's oldest stocks, aged upwards of 40 years, this is almost black in color, with mouthfilling flavors of dried fruits, molasses and roasted nuts whose richness is balanced by a sweet, smooth raisiny finish that's almost eternal.
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