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Osborne 1866 Solera Gran Reserva Brandy, 1 x 700ml

£9.9£99Clearance
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Over the years Osborne has accumulated a whole range of sherry brandies. Some of them originated in the firm (like the iconic Veterano and Magno), but many brands were taken over from other bodegas, such as Domecq or Agustín Blazquez. Mouth: medium body, fairly sweet and oaky. There’s a vague fruity note (maybe orange or peach candy), light hints of Oloroso (dried fruits, raisins, light nuts) and plenty of caramel and cocoa. Some mintiness from the wood as well. Nowadays almost all bodegas are producing one or more types of brandy. Some of the best known brands are Cardenal Mendoza, Terry Centenario, Gran Duque de Alba or Osborne Magno (which gave us the iconic bull image).

Gonzalez Byass Lepanto uses a double distillation process in copper pot stills, like in the old days. The spirits are matured for a minimum of 12 years in Fino sherry casks (ex-Tio Pepe) in a traditional solera system. Recent bottles seem to mention the age on the label but on my bottle this wasn’t the case. Keep in mind that there is a version at 36% ABV and another one at 40% ABV. I guess this is specific to the market you’re in and due to legal requirements or commercial strategy (same thing happens with their entry-level brandy Soberano). A lot of bodegas also have ultra-premium brandies of very high ages, e.g. El Maestro Sierra Brandy Gran Reserva (40+ yo), Romate Cardenal Mendoza Non Plus Ultra (50+ yo) or Bodegas Tradición Brandy Platinum (50+ yo). Being a country historically and politically connected with France and Spain the Principality honors its customs and traditions. Therefore, Andorra annually welcomes a huge number of tourists during the holidays and hosts events related to wine tastings, during which both Spanish and French products can be sampled.Andorra is not part of the European Union, therefore, the country’s trade policy is not affected by the strict European regulations of the alcohol market. In addition, Andorra today has the lowest VAT rate in Europe, which is fixed for all types of goods (including alcohol) at 4.5%. Andorra has also no excise on alcohol trade, which is actively practiced by the pan-European taxation on alcohol policy. Just like sherry in general, Brandy de Jerez is matured using the traditional system of Soleras and Criaderas. By periodically topping up casks with slightly younger brandy from the previous row, the bottom row will contain a consistent blend of brandies from different ages. Nowadays this wine is usually produced from the Airén grape in the provinces of La Mancha and Extremadura. This may seem surprising when you consider there is so much Palomino in vineyards around Jerez. However it is simply a cost issue: Palomino grapes are generally considered too precious for brandy. González Byass Lepanto is the only commercial brandy that is still produced entirely from Palomino, as far as I know. However some producers add a small portion of Palomino (or PX) base wine to the blend before distillation. All sherry types are used for brandy maturation, but the most common are Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez which have the richest flavours. Often multiple types of casks are used to give the brandy a complex mixture of flavour profiles. So a higher alcohol strength means less flavour congeners. To create a Brandy de Jerez you can use all three types of spirits. However the lower strength (less pure) holandas must always represent a minimum of 50% of the final brandy to guarantee enough typical flavours.

Holandas have a strength below 70% vol. and contain 200-600 grams of volatile substances per hectolitre of pure alcohol AWARD WINNING. World Spirits Awards - Gold Medal 2018. World Brand Awards - Best Brandy Solera 2017 & Gold Medal 2016. International Spirits Challenge - Gold Medal 2016At the end of November in Andorra, an annual conference of winemakers takes place, where wine producers from Europe and other countries of the world come and have the opportunity to taste the best wine brands. The holandas are matured in wooden casks, botas, that have previously contained sherry. These are not necessarily the same casks that are used in bodegas for the maturation of sherry (which are old, fairly neutral casks). Instead, usually newly made American oak casks are impregnated with sherry for a couple of months until the wood has soaked up the flavours of the wine. When the holandas are matured in these casks, the sherry and oak flavours will slowly be released into the brandy. The older the brandy, the smoother it will become and the more sherry flavours it will take in. Lepanto is the only brandy distilled entirely in pot stills and the only one actually distilled in Jerez N ose: quite an elegant profile, fresh with bright fruity notes like apricots, grapes and sour citrus. Hints of old wood and leather. Honey coated nuts and a light touch of vanilla. A refined drink, one of the sherry brandies that comes closest to classic Armagnac and Cognac. In Jerez they make a difference between three types of spirits based on their strength and volatile aromatics:

Nose: rather oaky, with pencil shavings and peppery notes. Hints of vanilla, orange peels and brown sugar. Underneath is an alcoholic note, making it a bit rougher than I’d like.I find it a little strange that a Málaga-based brandy that wasn’t certified to be a Brandy de Jerez can be “transformed” into a premium sherry brandy with certification. Let’s assume they have greatly upgraded the liquid itself too. Mind that this review was written based on the old version (bottled +/- 2016). Andorra produces it’s own alcohol too – in the country there are 4 wine brands that produce wine from varieties of grapes grown in higher altitudes. The taste of Andorran wines is very different from the neighboring French and Spanish plain wines. Wines from European grapes growing in the mountains above 1,000m are a special category. All 4 Andorran wine brands, which are sold in Andorra from € 30 per bottle in shops, are represented in most of the world markets: in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, and Australia. Look here for details

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