Jerez, My Dear?

Last night, R. and I attended a sherry tasting, with special guest César Saldana, the managing director of Spain’s Consejo Regulador de las D.O. ‘Jerez-Xérès-Sherry’. A fine tasting covering the breadth of Jerez wines - dry to sweet, fortified and not, some but not all currently available in the U.S.

2008 Barbadillo Palomino Vino de la Tierra
Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz
100% Palomino
12% abv.

An unfortified wine, fermented in INOX, palest yellow chiffon in colour. Light, subtle nose of white flowers and grass. Very clean and fresh, low acidity, light and dry, but with surprising presence. Petrichor, lime ash... very minerally, nuttiness, like unsalted popcorn, pleasant bitters on the finish - taste disappears, but mild oral anaesthesia persists. Very nice. This wine is essentially the "starter" for all the solera method fortified wines.


Gonzalez-Byass "Tio Pepe" Fino Sherry
D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
100% Palomino
15% abv

Even in Spain, this is considered a "classic" Fino sherry. Pale yellow. Very floral nose (no pun intended) - yes, also an obvious Flor/yeast nose, almonds, apples, raw honey. Though light bodied, quite a bit more viscous than the Barbadillo. Very dry, nutty, quite pungent, grainy, chalky, green and bitter. It's what you expect. But, really paired tremendously with boquerones - brined anchovies.


Barbadillo "Solear" Manzanilla
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
D.O. Manzanilla
100% Palomino
15% abv

The only style of sherry to have it's own separate D.O., it is made with exactly the same method as the Fino of Jerez de la Frontera (which is a city in the Andalucian interior), whereas Sanlúcar de Barrameda is on the Costa de la Luz. While they share a similarly chalky albariza soil, it is the particular strain of yeast that sets Manzanilla apart. Again a pale yellow, noticeably different on both the nose and palate from the Tio Pepe. The Flor character on the nose is more subtle and elegant, less yeasty, with a topnote of camomile. On the palate, very soft and creamy, still dry, a touch more acidity but still quite soft. I was surprised that this paired better with the anchovies, but I did not like the match with jamón ibérico.


Lustau "Los Arcos" Dry Amontillado
D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
100% Palomino
18.5% abv

So, Fino sherries are aged completely under Flor, the yeast, whereas the darker, more potent styles are done without Flor, aged oxidatively instead. Amontillado straddles that line. In a sense, Amontillado is a Fino whose Flor has Failed. However, that means it retains the characteristics of both styles, and is considered the most complex of the dry sherries. Amontillado - "wine like that of Montilla" refers to the neighbouring wine region of Montilla-Moriles, which is most famous for its dessert wines made from the Pedro Ximenez grape. Beautiful gem-like topaz colour. Very complex nose, yeast, floral, orange peel, caramel, honey, treacle, oxidised notes as well, nuttiness, palm sugar. Lovely nose. On the palate, very dry, but with a surprisingly sweet, caramel entry which burns off quickly, leaving nutty and bitter treacle notes. Tight, bright acidity up front, medium bodied, and a very smooth, soft finish.


Lustau "Emperatriz Eugenia" "Very Rare - Dry" Oloroso
D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
100% Palomino
20% abv

Moving into the dark stuff, this was a deep amber. Raisiny nose, honey, treacle, touch of rainwater. A rather sweet nose. On the palate, full-bodied, viscous, good acidity, caramel, vanilla, treacle, nutty, and more bitters, but impeccably dry. Surprising - nice move! This was both of our WOTN, with the Amontillado and the Matusalem (in a couple rounds) snapping at the heels for me.


Williams & Humbert "Dry Sack - 15 Years Old" Oloroso
Palomino & Pedro Ximénez blend
D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
20.5% abv

This is a style that was developed for the English market. Amber with orange highlights. A creamy nose, more subtle than the Lustau Oloroso, molasses, vanilla, flan, egg cream, rum-raisin. Surprisingly, this was also lighter in body than the Lustau. Medium bodied, surprisingly up front, fully sweet, with a short but bitter finish. Soft, decent acidity, but really didn't bring much complexity. Didn't much care for this. R. and the other ladies at the table got the giggles on this one though.


Gonzalez-Byass "Matusalem" "Dulce VORS" Oloroso
Palomino & Pedro Ximénez blend
D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
20.5% abv

VORS inidicates that the wines have a minimum of 30 years in age - 20 years in cask and a further 10 in solera. Treacly brown colour. A surprising note of volatile acidity! Yes, toffee and caramel, vanilla and raisins, baking spice and butter, all backed by a touch of pickle juice! Crazy, and intoxicating. On the palate, full on, intense, full bodied, viscous, bright sour elements, such as in a good bitter cooking chocolate, creamy mouthfeel. Bewildering, beguiling, and delicious. Sent by the Bodega, as it is sadly not available in PA.


Williams & Humbert "Don Guido" "VOS - 20 Years Old"
D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
100% Pedro Ximénez
18% abv

This style of wine is made from "raisins", as you would find with the appassimento style wines of Italy. Nearly black in colour, intense nose of coffee, licourice, prunes, burnt sugar. Mr. Saldana explained at the outset that the prune note is common with this style, and I don't know if it was that the crowd was not familiar with PX, but the prune association was a turn-off. Do Americans not like prunes? Well, more for me then, thank you very much. This is the velvet glove on iron fist - silky smooth, bright acidity, and packing a wallop. Delicious!

Mr. Saldana was an engaging host, who is clearly on a mission to bring a greater selection of fine sherry to the U.S. To paraphrase, "[We need to make people aware that there is more to sherry than just] this horrible stuff you people have in this country for cooking." A good start, I think.