El Maestro Sierra Oloroso XV Años

El Maestro Sierra was founded by master cooper José Antonio Sierra in 1830. Today, the bodega remains in the family, headed by two generations of women. Following years of selling to larger sherry merchants, they have bottled their own wines since 1992. The wines still rest in the master cooper's original barrels.

In the Sherry triangle in southern Spain, the terroir of the bodega is as important as that of the vineyard. El Maestro Sierra sits at slight elevation in the centre of Jerez de la Frontera, the town that gives sherry its name. Here, it's exposed to the Pontiente wind which helps cool the bodega, shaping the maturation of their long-lived fortified wines. The white sand floor of the bodega is dampened with non-chlorinated water from an internal well, to maintain the correct humidity for the precious old casks and the wines.

This Oloroso is made from 100% palomino grapes. Like most producers in the region, El Maestro Sierra doesn't own their own vines, instead purchasing their base wines from growers in the pagos of Balbaína and Miraflores y Trebujena. After fortification with grape spirit to 18%, the wine spends 15 years moving through a traditional solera system, ageing oxidatively in a series of 500L American oak butts. Like all El Maestro Sierra wines, it's bottled en rama, without filtration or fining.

Dry and concentrated, this Oloroso has a deep mahogany hue, and aromas of treacle, honeycomb, cloves, and toasted hazelnuts. Savoury and complex, with deep umami notes across an oily palate. Perfect as an aperitif or paired with olives, roasted nuts, jamón and manchego.