Spanish wine and sherry

Warren Place wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@veni.ucdavis.edu:

Warren,

If Madrid is your entrance and exit point to your visit to Spain, I strongly suggest that you reserve a couple of hours in your last day and visit Lavinia in 16, Ortega y Gasset, close to Plaza Colón. Not only they have an excellent selection of Spanish wine, but the people working there are knowleadgeable about wine. ALso, if you plan to buy sherry, freshness is an important issue, their stocks do rotate and they keep the wine in good condition (clima-controlled). They are not cheap, but you get the best service in Spain. They will also pack the wine properly for a trip, using bottle-packs so the wine does not suffer.

Best,

Santiago

Dear Warren,

When visiting Jerez, I strongly recommend you to book a visit at Lustau,

It's not the biggest bodega, but IMHO the best. Jerez is not that big so you can easily walk to the bodega at Calle Arcos from your hotel (we stayed in a small but nice hotel called Trujillo at Calle Medina, just a few blocks from Lustau).

They provide both "normal" belnded sherries in the whole range from finos, manzanillas to full-bodied olorosos and PX.

They also sells a limited amount of "Almacenistas" (you may call these vines the the single malt analogue in the sherry world).

When I visisted Lustau a few weeks ago you could buy sone vines at the bodega, but next year they will have a boutique will a bigger repertoire.

I bought: Manzanilla Papirusa (delicate, stone dry, mervelous) Puerto Fino (delicate, stone dry, mervelous) (they were both IMHO better than the fino) Palo Cortado Almacenista Vides (unparalleled, like a "light" cognac) Oloroso Eperatriz Eugenia Old East India

BTW, also try some Jamon Iberico Pata Negra Bellota, together with a good fino/manzanilla its unbeatable.

Regards, /Mats

PS: Try also to visit the nearby town Sanlucar de Barameda, where the Manzanillas are made. Lustau has a small bodega there for their manzanillas but I've never been able to visit it.

PPS: Regard> I'm planning to visit Spain and wondering what sherry (jerez) I should > look for?