Solera 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.

Founded in 1772, Osborne is one of Spain’s oldest continuously operating wine and spirits companies. It was established in El Puerto de Santa María, in Cádiz province, at the heart of the Sherry Triangle. The company remains family-owned after more than 250 years.

Bodegas Osborne. Photo: Alvaro Barba Lopez

The company traces its roots to Thomas Osborne Mann, an English merchant who settled in Andalusia to trade sherry. During the 18th and 19th centuries, British merchants played an enormous role in developing the export market for Sherry wines, and Osborne became one of the most successful.

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Alvear Solera 1927 Pedro Ximénez

Click here for tasting notes.

Alvear Solera 1927 Pedro Ximénez

Alvear is the oldest bodega in Montilla-Moriles (Córdoba, Andalucía) and among Spain’s oldest wineries.

Juan Bautista García de Alvear y Garnica was born in Nájera in 1657. He grew up to become mayor of the ‘Noble Kingdom of Nájera’ and the Royal Tax Collector. His son Diego de Alvear y Escalera founded the family wine business.

In 1729, Diego constructed the Alvear bodega in Montilla. The bodega was regarded as somewhat small and obscure at the time. Yet this reduced space, given over to wine butts and amphorae, was to become Diego’s most intimate universe.

Over time, Diego became one of the most important land-owners in the city. Together with his son, Santiago, he took the bodega to unprecedented heights when he won a contract to ship wine to England in the late 18th century.

Santiago’s son, Diego de Alvear y Ponce de León [1749 – 1830], was a military man and politician as well as being involved in the winery. He procured an assistant from Argentina, Capataz Billanueva, who would eventually become his right-hand-man.

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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.