Emilio LUSTAU - Peninsula - Palo Cortado
Bodegas Lustau is a famous sherry producer in Andalusia, Spain. La Bodega is arguably the most recognised fortified wine producer in the world. The estate was founded in 1896 by José Ruiz-Berdejo as Almacenista, and also cultivated his own vines. Almacenistas usually bought young wine (Ruiz made his own) and raised it in their own soleras, before selling them to larger houses, who mixed it with older wine or matured it longer in their larger soleras. It wasn't until the 1950s that Ruiz's son-in-law Emilio Lustau Ortega started bottling and exporting his own wine. Now based in Jerez, Lustau is the only winery to have sites in the three towns of the Sherry Triangle: Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Lustau buys grapes, while maintaining two of its own vineyards. The first is the Montegilillo vineyard, which is on white limestone albariza soil, local to the region. The second is the Las Cruces vineyard, which is found on sandy coastal soils.
Palo Cortado is a rare variety of sherry that is initially aged under flor to become a Fino or Amontillado, but inexplicably loses its veil of flor and begins to age through oxidation in Oloroso. The result is a wine with part of the richness of Oloroso and part of the lively, salty profile of Amontillado. Only about 1 to 2% of the grapes pressed for Sherry naturally turn into Palo Cortado.
Grape variety: 100% Palomino