For the most part, this article half assumes some prior knowledge of the sherry basics. There are plenty of good online introductions to the basic terms. But there is one term I'd like to talk about.
When I was preparing for the trip, I knew I was going to explore Jerez again, after a very long break of over a decade, so I read up on new trends in the World of Sherry. It seems the hot trend that happened while I was away is en rama, which means, as far as I can make out, pulling select barrels from the solera (or butts, to use the proper Sherry term) for bottling. I’m not sure when this step takes place. Are these select butts pulled out of the solera at some mid-point in the solera lifecycle to mature alone or are they pulled out at the time of bottling at end to be sold separately? Either way, I can't see how this doesn't cause a division between highly intense premium wines and somewhat diluted regular wines, which can be an inadvertent effect of such a selection. Does it even matter? Let's be realistic: if my hunch is true, the casual drinker of the regular wines doesn't care if they are more diluted than in the past and the aficionados will focus on the premium labels anyway. I know that's what I did, this trip.
Carvajal, Manzanilla, Pasada en Rama
A short description: dried fruit and tonic. I think this trip gave me some insights to how flor asserts itself in Fino and Manzanilla. Except for Oloroso, where the flor dies very early on or doesn't grow at all and the wines matures oxidatively, all Sherries spend years under flor, the local yeast that feeds on and caps the wines in barrels and basically creates the distinctive Sherry style. Every Sherry starts out as a Fino or a Manzanilla. Amontillado and Palo Cortado are what happens to a Fino or Manzanilla when the flor dies out and the wine starts to oxidize and gains nutty overtones. Before that happens, I find in the wines something that reminds me of an orange or mandarin leeched of sugar and blended with a herbal tonic (which gives the wines of the style a slightly bitter finish). I found that very prominent here and in the next wine as well.
A short description: dried fruit and tonic. I think this trip gave me some insights to how flor asserts itself in Fino and Manzanilla. Except for Oloroso, where the flor dies very early on or doesn't grow at all and the wines matures oxidatively, all Sherries spend years under flor, the local yeast that feeds on and caps the wines in barrels and basically creates the distinctive Sherry style. Every Sherry starts out as a Fino or a Manzanilla. Amontillado and Palo Cortado are what happens to a Fino or Manzanilla when the flor dies out and the wine starts to oxidize and gains nutty overtones. Before that happens, I find in the wines something that reminds me of an orange or mandarin leeched of sugar and blended with a herbal tonic (which gives the wines of the style a slightly bitter finish). I found that very prominent here and in the next wine as well.
Juan Pinero, Manzanilla, Maruja
The notes are remarkably similar. I'd need to drink them side by side to note and analyze the differences.
The notes are remarkably similar. I'd need to drink them side by side to note and analyze the differences.
Emilio Hidalgo, Amontillado, El Tresillo
And this is what happens when oxygen turns a Fino to an Amontillado. In this case, the wine ages as a Fino for ten years in a Solera that started way back in 1875 and then matured oxidatively for another five years (I'm not sure whether the flor is actively killed or dies out naturally). The result is a quintessential essence of Amontillado, a wine that really makes you appreciate the craftmanship and art that goes into the making of a fine sherry. I get cured meat, iodine, dried out pecan pie - but damn the descriptors, this is thrilling and classic. I bought other wines to take home, including Hidalgo's La Panesa (a Fino from another solera, I believe, on the cusp of becoming an Amontillado), but I sorely regret not hunting a bottle of this lovely gem.
In another age that now seems like a long time ago, I made a habit of sherry nightcap on business trips to the US. In the mid 2000's, even a bottle of fairly excellent and mature Oloroso or Palo Cortado (say, a 20 Years VOS) would cost less than 20 USD and a bottle could last for the duration of my sojourn on each stop (or would have, if I didn't finish off a bottle in the course of two evenings). Tradición was a regular go-to, although not any VORS, which is no weekday wine. The Bodegas was re-established in 1998, when Joaquin Rivero bought back Bodegas CZ, which was founded in 1650 and had been in Rivero's family from 1791 until it was sold in 1978. Rivero's dream was specialize in very old wines and he was one of the proponents of legally recognizing the VOS and VORS categories.
The VORS is well worthy of the long history. It's glorious, stunning, the best Amontillado I've ever had. Both palate and nose are intoxicating and intense, walnuts spiced with iodine, with just a hint of sweetness.
Tradición, Oloroso, VORS, 30 Years
Oloroso is not matured under flor at all, so of all the styles of sherry, it gets the least protection from oxygen. Amazingly, though, this has the freshest fruit of all the sherries drunk on this trip. And also, a surprisingly mineral-laden nose, a nose that wraps those minerals with walnuts and a touch of white pepper, a nose I can still conjure in my mind five days later. It's as intense and magical as the Amontillado, with a long finish that manages to be tangy and almost tannic, at the same time. Wow wow wow.
Oloroso is not matured under flor at all, so of all the styles of sherry, it gets the least protection from oxygen. Amazingly, though, this has the freshest fruit of all the sherries drunk on this trip. And also, a surprisingly mineral-laden nose, a nose that wraps those minerals with walnuts and a touch of white pepper, a nose I can still conjure in my mind five days later. It's as intense and magical as the Amontillado, with a long finish that manages to be tangy and almost tannic, at the same time. Wow wow wow.
Equipo Navazos, La Bota 95 de Amontillado
This is tough to explain. Basically, if I understand correctly, Equipo Navazos are a group of sherry merchants and connoisseurs who buy butts from select houses and bottle en rama. Jerez negociants! Each bottling is numbered sequentially, so this is the 95th wine they'd bottled. Remember how many styles of sherry there - they bottle quite a few La Bota's each year. This is intense yet harmonious. Savory, long, bone dry, with just enough sweetness to soothe - think of the sweetness of cashews rounding out the brininess of a young olives. High class.
Lustau, Palo Cortado, Peninsula
Another old friend I remember from fifteen years ago. Smokier, brinier, more elegant than the La Bota. I think that coming from a solera, and the blending that entails, gives it a mellower texture. The savory 'old wine' character is belied by a fresh, fruity orange zest.
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