WTN: Lustau Don Nuno Dry Oloroso

[Sue Courtney]

With it being such a great day for the Kiwis in Valencia in Spain - winning the Louis Vuitton Cup and therefore the right to challenge for the coveted Americas Cup - one of yachtings most glamorous prizes, it seemed the right time to open a bottle of Spanish Sherry. This was the one.

Lustau Solera Reserva Dry Oloroso Don Nuno Sherry
Deep amber orange colour, translucent in appearance with yellow green tinges to the edges. Intense aromas, rich, almost toffeeish, quite spiritous with smoke, salted nuts, hints of preserved peel and an ever present yeastiness. Richly flavoured, very dry with alcoholic sweetness, preserved dried citrus and tropical fruits and salted almonds, the brandy character seems quite strong with dry, yeasty, 'rancio' notes and the merest hint of caramel chocolate on the lingering and powerful finish.
20% alcohol by volume. T-Top. 375ml bottle. NZ$27. Bottling Code: L4320 (15 Nov 2004). My rating: Excellent

Food matches that worked:
Olives marinated in olive oil with garlic and chilli.
Blue cheese - the piquancy and saltiness of the cheese seems to work quite well - both the cheese and the Oloroso have strong flavours but neither overpowers the other.
Cold whole belly pork that had been cooked the day before in a wine citrus reduction with star anise (recipe inspiration here). The wine cut through the pork fat but didn't overpower the pork. I thought it worked quite well for a main course wine match.

Cheers,
Sue

[Sue Courtney]

Here I am talking to myself, nevertheless this gorgeous wine warrants some discussion..... especially as the bottle has been sitting on my computer desk for the last four days. This is now how I would describe the wine....

Clear, translucent, dark orange /light brown amber. Full-on aromas of raisins and muscatels - lots of caramelly, toffee spirit as well. Now the tangy rancio characters are even more pronounced with yeasty spiritous characters in abundance - there is hardly any fruit at all - just memories of dried fruits macerated in brandy last year. Lots of tart orange peel on the finish and salt too. Hot, dry, nutty and oxidised in the best Sherry way. I love it.

[Bonnie in Holland]

Sue, this is one of my favorite sherries, too -- you're definitely not talking to yourself! Here's my tasting notes, which are a lot like yours:
Appearance: clear wine with a deep amber coor and a narrow amber, slightly greenish rim. The legs are long.
Nose: The condition is clean. There's a pronounced complex aged bouquet with a character of oxidation,slight salt, wood, caramel, roasted nuts, and macerated dried fruits.
Palate: This is an off-dry,full-bodied wine, with crisp acids and well-balanced tannins. There is a complex, pronounced character of raisins, slight salt, coffee, chocolate, wood, citrus peel, and toasted nuts. the alcohol is high. The length is long, with a finish of coffee, toffee and salt.
Conclusions: This is a terrific good-quality, well-balanced, complex sherry that should be drunk now.
cheers, Bonnie

[Sue Courtney]

Bonnie - thanks. We could definitely share a bottle of this wine and be very happy. Nice to share notes in cyber space.