Carlos 1 Solera Gran Reserva Brandy 750ml

Carlos I comes from Osborne, a family owned company founded in 1772 and one of the oldest continuously operating businesses in Spain. The brandy's own story dates to 1889, when a cellar master in Jerez came across a set of forgotten barrels tucked in a corner of the winery and discovered the exceptional spirit maturing inside. The house named the brandy for Carlos I, the Spanish king better known internationally as Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, a nod to the ambitious, conquering character the blend was meant to embody.

Carlos I is made from holandas, low proof wine spirits distilled from Airén grapes, which are then carefully assembled and aged in American oak casks previously seasoned with sherry. Following the traditional criaderas and soleras system also used to mature sherry itself, younger and older brandies blend gradually across tiers of barrels, and because those casks are never fully emptied, some component of the final blend traces back over a century. The solera averages roughly twelve years of aging before bottling.

The result is a deep mahogany brandy with rich, chocolaty character, showing dark dried fruit, oak, and toasted almond alongside cocoa and vanilla. The palate stays velvety and rounded, finishing long with sherry influenced warmth and gentle spice.