Don's Gillette's Weekly Wine Blog
Weekly musings from our store's resident wine guru
Don has over thirty years experience in the wine industry. For the last eighteen years his attention has been focused on the growing local industry. Don has a large following of customers who search out his opinions (never in short supply!) on new releases and on what's currently most distinctive on our shelves. Others seek his insights on wineries and trends that are still under the radar. Check back here each week for Don's latest thoughts on various wine-related topics. Read Don's full bio...
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Extra Warmth from the Solera
Sunday night was both foggy and breezy in San Francisco. We spent part of it on a friend's porch, before one of those elevated fire boxes you see in the barbecue departments of hardware stores. It was a cheerful toy. Further warmth was provided by a bottle of Spanish Sherry: Lustau's Emperatriz Eugenia Gran Reserve Oloroso.
Lustau is a producer-negotiant of excellent quality and I have enjoyed their Sherries for three decades. The Oloroso was a wonderfully rich, complex and harmonious wine with deep toasted nut, raisin, allspice, dried citrus and creme brulee flavors. It had class, great length, intensity and a dry balance.
I've always loved Sherry and, believe it or not, often used to drink fine California versions. In the 1970s, several California producers had long-established Solaras of fine elegance, and the full range of styles was produced here. One might drink a Fino from Llords & Ellwood, or a richer version from Paul Masson, Almaden or Sebastianni. Other wineries like Beringer, would intermittently release well-aged specialty bottlings of their own.
By the 1980s little was left of that part of the California industry and there was a whole generation of new wine drinkers who had no personal experience with it. For most who did encounter it, Sherry was the fermented biohazard that caused the chinking sound in the overcoats of winos.
Almaden and Paul Masson, who once saw fine Sherry as a staple attraction in her Santa Cruz Mountain tasting rooms, were now mega-producers who created oceans of desert-grown jug wine. Tasting rooms were no longer considerations for them. Long-time Sherry-makers San Martin and Brookside, whose roadside tasting rooms were once favorite stops on California's north-south highway: "El Camino Real", lost their livelihood when US Highway 101 replaced the old Kings Highway.
When Brookside closed, one of its executives bought the winery's barrels and relocated them to Cucamonga Valley. There, Rancho de Philo was founded. I believe their "Triple Cream Sherry" comes from California's last authentic Solera.
My friends had little to lament, cheerfully drinking the real thing, but it is a pity they could not have seen the local variety in its heyday. I have their assurance though, that if I again appear with a good bottle of Sherry and give them adequate warning; I will find another cheery fire, and some toasted nuts, fresh figs and blue cheese, to keep it company.