Founded in 1896, Lustau has been a standard bearer for Sherry for more than a century. For more than the last few decades, it has been applying a boutique concept to its winemaking, building up a selection of some thirty wines from its own Soleras and others chosen from the stocks of the small Almacenista producers, and independent Sherry artisans. These are aged in all three of the cities of the Sherry area: Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Now Lustau has taken this quality approach a step further, releasing two Finos and a Manzanilla all En Rama. “En Rama” means “from the branch”, the idea being that this is Sherry in its rawest and most natural form, straight from the barrel with no filtering or fining. For us, this is the finest way to drink Sherry.

History

In the 17th century, they started to notice that the wine actually improved after such a trip, becoming smoother and more complex. This can be explained by the constant movement (i.e. more interaction with air and wood) and by the exposure to high temperatures. East India Sherry which was brought back after a trip became very popular (and expensive), just like East India Madeira. Even whisky was ‘improved’ this way.

The tradition faded in the 19th Century with the introduction of steamships, but the idea had a small revival in 1958 when a butt of Valdespino Solera 1842 was shipped on the Ben Line and compared to bottles that had stayed at home. The improvement was clear.

Awards

• Gold Mundus Vini
• IWSC Silver 2020
• Decanter Silver 
• 90 points Wine Enthusiast
• 90 points Decanter

Specifications