Carlos I Archives

Carlos I Brandy de Jerez Solera Gran Reserva

If Cognac represents the pinnacle of French grape brandy, Carlos I Brandy de Jerez is one of Spain’s great answers to it. Produced by Bodegas Osborne, it is arguably the flagship premium Brandy de Jerez, and has done more than almost any other brand to elevate Spanish brandy from an everyday digestif to a world-class sipping spirit.

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A Note About Vintages

Although you will see vintage dates throughout Winervana, I don’t put too much importance on them. Major producers these days strive for a consistent style, and largely succeed. (Especially in California, aided by the usually even climate there.) For instance, when shopping for a particular wine, if you have a choice between a current release and one that’s a few years old, there will certainly be differences in price and the character of the wine. But upon release, those two examples of the same wine are likely to be quite similar, especially for New World producers, who often enjoy more reliably consistent weather than Old World producers do. (Of course, global climate change may disrupt things for everybody.)

Wine Enthusiast has an interesting post about this here.