The history of Bodegas Lustau dates back to 1896, when the early steps were taken by Don José Ruiz-Berdejo. He grew some vines in his own finca called Finca Nuestra Senora de la Esperanza and aged the wines for some time. At first this was merely for private consumption, but later he also sold them to bigger houses which commercialized and exported the wines. This is what we call an almacenista, a warehouse keeper. Originally almacenistas simply wanted to age sherry for local bars and shops (often their own), afterwards they also became suppliers for larger shipping bodegas.

After his death in 1930, the bodega was moved to the old town centre of Jerez (in the Calle Asta) and steadily expanded. By then, the founder’s daughter María and son-in-law Emilio Lustau Ortega from Granada were at the head of the company. Emilio began to export wines and felt Lustau should be at the forefront of quality, while staying loyal to his almacenista roots.

He introduced the Lustau Solera Reserva range, composed with old stocks acquired from different almacenistas, and later (in 1981) added the Almacenista range, a series of hand-picked wines from small almacenistas, bottled and labeled by Lustau but with the provenance mentioned on the label. Both are still highly respected ranges and among the more widely available premium sherries.

Fuente: https://www.sherrynotes.com/2013/bodegas/emilio-lu...