With the solera system there are no single vintages. The wines resulting from each harvest are blended with the previous vintages until they result in a wines of consistent quality.

This method for Spanish wines calls for several rows of botas (butts). The bottom row of butts is the solera (because it is close to the "suelo", the cellar floor, which contains the oldest blend. The row immediately above is know as the first criadera (nursery), and above that are the second, third,and fourth criaderas, and often there are more.

The wine destined for bottling is taken from the solera. Only a small portion of the butt´s content is drawn off (about third a year, taken in two sesions) so we ensure that the basic structure of the remainig wine is intact.

This process for Spanish wines is called the saca. The wine is homogenized in a tank, then clarified, filtered, and bottled.

Meanwhile, the solera butts are topped off with the blend from the first criadera, which in turn is topped off with the younger blend from the second criadera, and so on to the top row, which is filled with the most recent wines, from another row of casks called sobretablas.

This method, ideal for ensuring a final product of uniform quality, is used for most Spanish wines generous "vinos generosos", both those aged under veil of yeast (finos) and those which undergo an oxidate aging (oloroso, palo cortado, cream, sweet wines), as well as amontillado, a wine which combines the two methods.

What is know as "crianza bajo velo" (aging under veil) or "en flor" is a genuinely Spanish wines making method, used for aging our "vinos generosos".

The velo (veil) or flor is a layer of living yeasts that forms on the surface of the wine in the barrel. These living organisms play a major role in defining the character of our Spanish wines. The process is extremely complex and delicate, and makes such wines more sensitive to variations in the climate than any other.

The finest grape musts, those which promise the most delicate aromas, are selected to make the "vinos generosos". For the floating cap of yeast to develop, it is crucial that the wines reach an alcohol content of 15 percent. This high level of alcohol of our Spanish wines is obtained naturally in our Montilla-Moriles Denomination of Origin (D.O.), thanks to the very high sugar content of our local grape, the Pedro Ximénez. Elsewhere, Jerez and the Condado de Huelva for example, the winemaker must resort to fortifying the wine with grapes spirits to reach the desired alcohol level.

The resulting blend is aged in American oak botas (butts), large barrels holding 500-550 liters each. We take special care that the butts are made of well seasoned, old wood. They are filled to five sixths, leaving a pocket of air to allow the yeast to develop on the exposed surface of the wine.

The yeasts start to appear within a few days, eventually forming a floating layer around two centimeters (three quarters of an inch) thick, its colour varying between cream white to a light toasted hue.

The aromas of wines and character are completely transformed, for the yeasts seal the wine off from air and ferment an y sugar remaining in the must, resulting in what are the driest Spanish wines and in the world.

This painstaking process culminates with the ingenious aging method of franctional blending know as the solera and criadera system.