Wine of the Week

Oloroso Sangre y Trabajadero (Bodegas Gutiérrez Colosía, El Puerto de Santa María)

D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry

Variety - 100% Palomino Fino

ABV - 18%

€16,60 from Decántalo

From the Terminal Marítima in Cádiz there is a wonderful short journey on the regular catamaran that sails across the Bay of Cádiz to the town of El Puerto de Santa María. As you arrive and dock in the estuary of the Río Guadalete you will see the Gutiérrez Colosía bodega on the left.

Founded in 1838, Gutiérrez Colosía is the last remaining bodega in El Puerto on the banks of the Guadalete river. The unique microclimate of this location helps maintain a constant level of humidity in the bodega’s nave de catedral, or cathedral-like warehouse, that is the ideal environment for ageing wines.

Gutiérrez Colosía is perhaps best known for its Sangre y Trabajadero Oloroso, a wine instantly recognisable for its iconic old-school label. 

Oloroso sherries are oxidatively aged in casks where the wine has no protection from flor, the layer of yeast cells that forms on biologically aged wines such as fino and manzanilla. Indeed, base wines destined to become olorosos are fortified to bring their alcoholic strength up to 17 to 18 percent by volume, a level at which the flor cannot survive.

The Sangre y Trabajadero’s rich, dark amber colour comes from at least seven years of oxidative ageing in American oaks casks in the solera and criadera system.

The nose shows sweet aromas of toffee, caramel, burnt orange, spice and vanilla. Yet the palate is dry, complex and savoury, with a saline twist on the finish.

A lovely aperitif on its own, but will also pair well with mature cheeses, charcuterie and rich stews and casseroles.