Sanchez Romate Uno en Mil Single Oak Cask Brandy 40%

Description

Sanchez Romate Uno en Mil Single Oak Cask is a single barrel bottling of Spanish Brandy from Bodegas Sanchez Romate who are famous, not only for their fine brandies, but also their superb Sherries.

Founded in 1781, Bodegas Sanchez Romate first started releasing brandy in the late 19th century. Being regulated under the strict auspices of the Consejo Regulador – the Brandy de Jerez regulatory body – and their own even stricter controls, their Cardenal Mendoza brand surpasses minimum quality and ageing regulations with ease, making it one of the greatest and most sought after brandies in its category. Their brandies are produced in pot stills. During the 17th Century whilst Holland was at war with France the Dutch looked to Spain as an alternative source for brandy. It was the Dutch Navy that introduced Pot Stills (or alquitaras) to the region. To this day pot still brandy is still known as “holandas” in the Sherry region. Almost all pot still brandy in the region is double-distilled.

Sanchez Romate Uno en Mil Single Oak Cask is a stunning Spanish brandy. It is a single barrel (or bota) bottling). Sanchez Romate have 1000 barrels of brandy ageing in barrels at their bodega. Most Brandy de Jeres is aged in the solera system, a fractional system of ageing Brandy de Jerez and will end up in their Romate, Cardenal Mendoza or Carta Real brandies. However every so often the company’s spirits man, Ricardo Real, will choose to leave a barrel which does not enter the solera. This is barrel is then aged statically, like a normal brandy, in American oak casks which could which have previously contained Sherry (Fino and Amontillado). Each single barrel bottling is one out of a thousand barrels, hence one in a thousand or “Uno En Mil”.

Sanchez Romate Uno en Mil Single Oak Cask is bottled as a Solera Gran Reserva. I found this a little bit confusing as it doesn’t go through the solera system. So I checked with Sanchez Romate themselves. Solera Gran Reserva Brandy has to be aged for a minimum of 36 months but it does not have to go through the solera system! As a rule of thumb most Solera Gran Reserva brandy is over 10 years old. Uno en Mil is closer to 20 years old.

The current bottling of Sanchez Romate Uno en Mil is from cask 188 or 188/1000. Bottled at 40%.