Filling the glass at the Romate cellars: Visiting the home of Cardenal Mendoza brandy.
Jacaranda trees, palm trees, and orange trees line the streets of Jerez de la Frontera, the birthplace of Sherry wines and home to Cardenal Mendoza brandy.
Take a stroll down the leafy Calle Porvera, over its purple carpet of tiny jacaranda petals lying beneath your feet, and before you know it, you’ll be standing in front of Bodegas Romate, an intricate complex of wine cellars, typically sheltered from the hustle and bustle by their pink and purple walls adorned with hanging bougainvillea.
Inside, the magic potion of Cardenal Mendoza brandy is revealed. An elixir that rests there, in silence, for decades before embarking on a journey of no return to be enjoyed in more than 50 countries.
To fully appreciate the brandies of Romate-Cardenal Mendoza, Carta Real, and the legendary Non Plus Ultra, one must also be familiar with their sherry wines, as these are the source of their subtle sweet notes. This is because their brandies are aged in American oak casks that previously held Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherries.
Before being stored in those cavernous cellars, the Pedro Ximénez grape is left in the sun to dry like a sultana, thereby naturally increasing its sugar concentration until it reaches a level of sweetness comparable to that of Taylor Swift.
Crush those Andalusian raisins and let their juice age in American oak barrels for five years, and the result will be a dense, silky-smooth wine, perfect for drizzling over ice cream and ideal for infusing the brandy with the deepest aromas, colors, and flavors, making Brandy de Jerez something unique and inimitable.
Even more authentic, if that’s possible, is to taste these sherries and brandies straight from the barrel, pouring the spectrum of colors into your glass with a magic wand they call a Venencia—a curved device inserted into the barrel to draw out just enough wine to fill two eager glasses.
At that moment, you could recite to your sommelier—as they are called here—the words of the old poet Omar Khayyam,
Come on, fill your glass and, in the warmth of spring,
Throw away your winter clothes of regret:
The bird of time flies only in one direction
And, there we go! The bird is flying!
But even though time flies, there’s no rush at the Romate cellars.
The only ingredients in Cardenal Mendoza Brandy are distilled Airén grapes and time—a lot of time.
Pot stills are used in the distillation process, and the final product is transferred to American oak barrels, where it will remain for at least fifteen years before being bottled.
We’re talking about fifteen long years of infusion, evaporation, and concentration through a dynamic aging system known as “solera y criaderas,” in which the brandy passes through 8 different casks—aging barrels, as we might call them—before reaching the solera, the row of casks at ground level, from which the final elixir is drawn to be bottled.
The final result of this laborious process makes the energy expended and time invested well worth it: the barrels will yield a mahogany-colored, slightly sweet brandy, originating in Jerez and found nowhere else.
It is a powerful drink that you should treat with care on your first encounter.
Just as you would with a glass of whiskey, it is advisable to observe it from a safe distance and prepare your palate to taste the 40% alcohol by taking a couple of small sips before letting it swirl freely in your mouth so that you can enjoy the nuances resulting from years of aging.
Do this, and you’ll be able to appreciate its aroma of plums and its flavor of raisins, as well as the kick of its alcohol cushioned by the lingering sweetness of Pedro Ximénez grapes.
Do this and you’ll want to try Cardenal Mendoza Carta Real, twice as wise, and naturally, you’ll long to try its older brother, the Non Plus Ultra, aged fifty years; a drop of mahogany as dark as night, sweetened by Pedro Ximénez and so softened by the years that its 45% alcohol remains hidden from the senses as it glides through your salivating mouth.
Do this, and you’ll long for Jerez, even if you’ve never been there; you’ll want to be enveloped by its citrusy breeze and immerse yourself in its pink and purple hues. You’ll miss the floral aroma of wine wafting through the huge windows of its cellars and recall afternoons of “al fresco” tapas shared with friends, family, and lovers.
You’ll remember all of this with a simple sip from a glass of sherry or brandy.
