Lustau East India Solera

A moment of indulgence this week, perhaps even a little self-indulgence (but if you can’t do that at this time of year, then when can you?), as I turn the Weekend Wine spotlight towards the East India Solera from Lustau. Indulgence because that is perhaps the only appropriate term to describe any encounter with this richly sweetened cream sherry. Self-indulgence because, if I remember rightly the last time I drank a glass of this was at a Lustau dinner surely more than twenty years ago, and it only took one sniff of this wine to instantly transport me back in time to that dinner, casting aside modern stresses and commitments, to when life was simpler; the responsibilities of the daily grind seemed less taxing, and I am sure there were more hours in the day.

Perhaps Lustau are also allowing themselves a little self-indulgence with this wine, which harks back to the 17th-century practice of shipping barrels of wine around the globe as ballast only to find it tasted much better as a result. The East India Company had plenty of ships and plenty of reasons to be sailing them; having set up to trade around the Indian Ocean in 1600, the company grew to colonise and ultimately govern the regions it controlled, its position of absolute dominance maintained thanks to the support of its three presidency armies. At its height the company controlled half the world’s trade, focusing on cotton, silk, sugar, spices, tea and opium.

Delve into the history of the East India Company and you will find little or no mention of wine, perhaps not surprising given the fact the riches in the holds of its ships generally originated from the Indies. But there was often wine on board, partly taken as ballast, and partly to meet the needs (surely considerable?!) of the crew. The sweeter and fortified wines of Jerez and Madeira were popular choices, as they survived the journey better than mere table wine. Curiously, though, it is said they often tasted better at the end of the journey compared to the start. Why was this? I am not at all certain anyone knows. Maybe the sloshing about in the barrel? Maybe the slow cooking beneath the glare of the Insulindian sun? Perhaps, just perhaps, a touch of rose-tinted spectacles?

Whatever the reason, many years ago Lustau decided to revive this style in the East India Solera. This is a blend of a dry Oloroso, comprising 80% or the total, and a very sweet Pedro Ximénez making up the other 20%. The two components are aged in separate soleras for twelve years, then blended and aged for a further three years before being bottled and released. Having presumably failed to locate any sea-worthy 17th-century triple-masters on which to age the wine, Lustau identified a warmer and more humid corner of the cellars where the barrels are held during this period.

The wine is then assembled and bottled, the finished blend typically carrying in excess of 130 g/l residual sugar, placing it well into the cream sherry spectrum. Poured from a 50 cl bottle, once in the glass the Lustau East India Solera displays a typically glossy hue, an opaque core of caramelised toast, with very little fade out to a tight rim tinged with ochre and green. Aromatically this is no shrinking violet, with immediately sweet suggestions of candied orange, dates and raisins, all laced with threads of dark chocolate, toasted Brazil nut and axle grease. There are thus no surprises when the wine hits the palate, as it presents a sweetly textured and viscous core, loaded with prunes, raisins, caramel and toasted coffee bean, thankfully cut through by a rather tangy acidity coming from the Oloroso, which does its best to counter the sweet panoply of flavours presented by the Pedro Ximénez. I think it struggles with balance a little, that acidity never quite delivering the final blow, but on the whole this wine from Lustau charms with its sweetness, intensity and – dare I say it – its sense of indulgence. The alcohol on the label is 20%. 91/100 (27/12/23)

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