# Solera Familiar Amontillado Los Arcos (NV)

- **Producer:** Bodegas Lustau
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** fortified
- **Grapes:** Palomino Fino
- **Region:** Andalucía, Spain
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 18.5%
- **Average price:** €15
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now
- **Serving temperature:** 13–14 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** lemon, orange, bread, toast, smoke, hazelnut, almond, walnut, dried fig, caramel

## About this wine

Bodegas Lustau, established in 1896 by Don José Ruiz-Berdejo, is a benchmark producer of Sherry based in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. The cuvée name 'Los Arcos' pays homage to two historic arches located at the entrance of the producer's former winery at Plaza del Cubo. Each arch was named after the wife of one of founder Emilio Lustau’s sons. Crafted from Palomino Fino vines grown in the classic chalky albariza soils of Jerez, this bottling is part of Lustau's flagship Solera Familiar range.

## Interesting facts

- Named after two historic entrance arches honoring the wives of Emilio Lustau's sons.
- Ages for four years under yeast flor followed by four years of oxidative oak aging.
- Stays vibrant and fresh for up to two months after opening if kept chilled.

## Food pairing

Amontillado combines crisp saline acidity from biological flor aging with deep roasted nuttiness from oxidative aging. This dual character makes it exceptional with notoriously difficult pairings like green asparagus and artichokes, while easily handling rich umami flavors from cured meats, aged cheeses, and earthy mushrooms.

## Wine making process

Fermented from Palomino Fino must in stainless steel tanks, the base wine is fortified and aged for a total of eight years in American oak casks within the historic Bodega Emperatriz Eugenia. Maturation is divided into two distinct four-year phases: biological aging under a natural veil of flor yeast as a Fino, followed by four years of oxidative aging after the flor layer naturally subsides and the wine is re-fortified to 18.5% ABV.