Very Rare Oloroso 1|60 (Marks & Spencer)

One of many ‘Buyers Own Brand’ sherries in the UK: high quality from a well-known bodega

BOB sherry (“Buyers Own Brand”) is quite common in the UK. Supermarkets (Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Tesco) or wine distributors (Fortnum & Mason, Berry Bros) have an agreement with bodegas to bottle sherry under their own name.

Sometimes they’re identical to existing products, but often they’re a slightly younger / different selection of barrels from existing soleras. Usually they offer great value for money.

We’ve already reviewed the excellent Amontillado for Fortnum & Mason, and we’ll now try another UK exclusive: the Very Rare Oloroso from Marks & Spencer. Note that you’ll also find slightly older bottles that say Dry Old Oloroso.

The Very Rare Oloroso is a single-vineyard wine, taken from a 60-barrel solera at Bodegas Lustau and only available in half bottles. Lustau kindly confirmed that it is in fact a ‘careful selection’ from an existing solera. It is part of a wider Very Rare series which includes a Manzanilla Pasada, a Fino and Amontillado, a Palo Cortado, this Oloroso and a Pedro Ximénez, all from Lustau. The majority of the range won medals in the International Wine Challenge and Decanter World Wine Awards.

Very Rare Oloroso for Marks & Spencer (20%, Bodegas Lustau, 37,5cl)

Nose: nice and fragrant, with lots of nutty notes (almonds, hazelnuts) and bright oranges and red berries. Polished wood, a little vanilla and milk chocolate. Light spices. Very lively and relatively fruity.

Mouth: great sweet & sour fruity notes again (plums, sultanas, hints of raspberries) before it gets a spicy boost (pepper as well as tangy salty notes). Lemon peel and toasted nuts. Then a warm oaky glow takes over towards the finish, which is a little shorter than I hoped.

Availability: exclusive to Marks & Spencer in the UK for around € 10. Sadly they don’t offer international delivery for this.

Thank you for the sample exchange, A.K.

Summary: This Very Old Oloroso definitely exceeds the expectations of a supermarket label. A classic example of a middle-aged Oloroso at an interesting price.

4

Very good

Tags: 20%, BOB sherry, Jerez de la Frontera, Lustau, Marks & Spencer, Oloroso, Very Rare

About the Author

Ruben is a Certified Sherry Educator who fell in love with sherry some 25 years ago, but switched to a higher gear in 2013 and started writing about it. Lived in Madrid for a couple of years, now back in Belgium. I also run a whisky blog over at www.whiskynotes.be