Lepanto Solera Gran Reserva 12 Anos, Brandy de Jerez 36%

Description

Lepanto Solera Gran Reserva is a Brandy de Jerez produced by Sherry producer Gonzalez Byass. Lepanto is unusual in that it is the only Brandy de Jerez produced exclusively from the Palomino Fino grape variety, most are produced from the Airen grape variety.

The origins of Gonzalez Byass can be traced back to 1835 when by Manuel María González Angel, he was subsequently joined by his English agent Robert Blake Byass. The Byass family withdrew from the company in 1998 and company is owned and run by the 4th and 5th generation of the González family. Gonzalez Byass have been at the forefront of Sherry production and their Tio Pepe brand became world-famous when it introduced its sombrero and guitar label in 1935.

As mentioned above, Lepanto Brandies are the only Brandy de Jerez made from 100% Palomino grapes grown in the Jerez regions. After vinification the wine is then double distilled in two Armagnac ‘Charentais’ or “pot” stills, which produce a fuller, richer spirit than column stills. Only the central part or heart of the alcohol spirit produced, discarding the heads and tails known as Holanda, is used. This is the purest and bes quality spirit.

For the first nine years of its life the Lepanto Solera Gran Reserva 12 Anos (12 years) is aged for 9 years in 600 litre American oak casks previously used for the ageing of Tio Pepe. After nine years the brandy is then aged for a further 3 years in the traditional “Criaderas and Solera” system in barrels, a system of fractional ageing, previously used for the ageing of sweet 30 year old Oloroso Matusalem. The final brandy has an average age 12 years and it is bottled as a Solera Gran Reserva. For over 25 years our Master Distiller Luis Trillo Gutierrez has been controlling each stage of the maturation and blending process. Bottled at 36% ABV.