Barbadillo Oloroso Cuco

If there is one thing that makes the wines of the D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry true gems, it is time. In this area’s wineries, in southern Andalusia, time, apart from being able to drink, is very carefully guarded. One of these gems is Barbadillo Oloroso Cuco, a fortified wine made by Barbadillo where the aging time reaches eighteen years.

If there is one thing Barbadillo understands, it is time. This winery, founded in 1821 by cousins Benigno Barbadillo and Manuel López Barbadillo, is more than 200 years old, making it not only one of the best known wineries in the region (it was the first to bottle manzanilla), but also one of the largest. They currently own 500 hectares of their own vineyards and more than 16 wineries in the Barrio Alto of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, including La Arboledilla (the largest cathedral winery in the province).

With Barbadillo Oloroso Cuco, the timer starts in the vineyards of Gibalbín and Santa Lucía. Both plots are located 30 km north of Jerez: the first, in the district of the same name; the second, on the border between Jerez and the neighbouring town of El Cuervo. In this area, unlike the vineyards located by the sea, the heat is more intense and the grapes ripen earlier. The people who really put their souls into the harvest are the women, most of them neighbours of Gibalbín, and they are in charge of harvesting 10% of the vineyard (about 300,000 kilos). The remainder, up to three million, is done mechanically. Barbadillo is also the main buyer of grapes in the area, purchasing an additional 4 million grapes from suppliers.

Time continues to pass in the presses, also located in the vineyards themselves, where the grapes are taken quickly (to ensure they are in the best possible condition). To make this possible, the harvest always begins early, avoiding the hottest hours of the day. After being received, weighed and processed, the grapes go to the press, where two types of must are made: there’s the free-run juice, obtained at low pressures and of higher quality; then there’s the second press, which is subjected to higher pressures and has greater structure and somewhat more colour. The former will be used for biologically aged wines (manzanillas, finos and amontillado), while the latter is perfect for oxidative aging (oloroso and palo cortados).

However, before all this, the wine will have to ferment to make a base wine to work with. To make Barbadillo Oloroso Cuco, this base wine (commonly known in the area as mosto or first wine of the year) reaches 13º. At this point, wine alcohol will be added (a practice known as “capping”) and Barbadillo Oloroso Cuco reaches 18º. Now ready for aging, the wine is racked into American oak barrels (between 550L and 600L). With this strength, unlike manzanillas and finos, the yeasts that form the yeast cap will not be able to survive on the surface of the wine. That means Barbadillo Oloroso Cuco will be in contact with oxygen from the beginning. This leads to greater exposure to the wood and higher concentration (caused by the seeping of the liquid through the walls of the cask). It will remain in the San Guillermo winery for 18 years, immersed in the criaderas and soleras system, waiting for its time to come.

It is commonly said that sherry wines are like people and have their own development: from the young and fun manzanillas that have yet to be refined, to the old and solemn VORS soleras (wines with an average age of more than 30 years). Barbadillo Oloroso Cuco is right in the middle, in the prime of life and like any 18 year old, comes ready to surprise and take in the whole world.