I have noticed that over my many years at Majestic, people tend to just buy Sherry at Christmas but as the weather is starting to turn and the sun(kind of) is coming out more, I find that there is nothing more pleasurable than having a nice cold glass of
Manzanilla or whatever you fancy with some smoked almonds and a bowl of olives-just like they do in Andalucia!
Some background-Sherry is a fortified white wine, naturally dry, which is produced commercially in a variety of styles ranging from dry to very sweet.It is a natural product of the province of Cadiz in the south-western tip of the region of Andalucia in
southern Spain.The sherry vineyards are to be found in the centre of a triangle formed by three towns to the north of Cadiz:Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlucar de Barrameda and Puerto de Santa Maria.
Climate- It is generally very warm and can be hot and very dry in the summer, the heat tempered by the proximity of the ocean.Two prevailing winds-the dry Levante from the east, the wet Ponente from the Atlantic-blow alternately.
Soil- The soil of the main vineyards, called albariza, is of chalk, and it is the combination of this soil- ideal for making white wines- and the hot, somewhat humid climate that produces the conditions ideal for growing the grapes.
The grapes- The Sherry region is fast becoming one of a single grape variety.The white Palomino grape or Palomino Fino as it is technically called- occupies 90% of the vineyard area, leaving little(and decreasing) room for the other permitted grape varieties,
also white: Pedro Ximenez(which makes a sweet wine, still used occasionally for turning dry sherry,sweet) and Moscatel Fino(rarely found today).
How it is made- Once the white wine is made, it is at this point when sherry changes from an ordinary white table wine into something quite unique and almost magical. Once fermented, the wine will be put into wooden casks, locally called butts, which hold
500 litres but are not filled to capacity. As the wine ages in the large, cool storage buildings of the bodega, a yeast called flor, carried on the Ponente wind, grows naturally on the wine. This preserves it from oxidation from the air space in the cask,
as well as lending a yeasty character to the mature, dry wine. Sherry is then classified into styles- the butts with a decent amount of flor will be put aside for ageing as a fino or go onto become amontillado. They will then be lightly fortified with brandy
up to 15.5%. Those without or very little flor will be destined for Oloroso. These will be immediately fortified up to 18% alcohol(flor only survives up to 17.5%) and put aside for separate ageing.
The Solera System- The essence of sherry is blending, across the years as well as between casks. The solera, used for all styles of sherry,operates by a series of blendings: a proportion of the youngest wine in the bodega is blended into a butt of wine from
the preceding year, where the younger wine begins to take on the character of the older.
To make room for this process, a third of the butt of second year wine is transferred to the third year wine, while a third of the third year butt is moved into the fourth year wine. Each of these stages is called a criadera(the spanish word for nursery).
Sherry is therefore a blended wine in many senses. The final bottle will contain wines from a number of different soleras which are blended in a further series of butts before bottling.
This one of the many reason why we LOVE sherry. It is a vastly underrated product and such good value for money. We all must realise what a bargain Sherry is at even £10! Some sherries have older wine blended in them dating back thirty to sixty years and
more!
Sherries styles from dry to sweet-
MANZANILLA- matured by the sea at Sanlucar de Barrameda, it is sherry's lightest style-searingly dry, delicate and with an almost salty bite. Goes very well with olives,smoked almonds, serrano ham etc.
FINO- similar to Manzanilla but fractionally weightier. Both get their characteristic yeasty tang from the flor yeast which is left to grow as they mature in barrel.
AMONTILLADO- is fino on which the flor has lived, matured and died and so it is an older, darker and nuttier sherry, but one which should still have a certain tang.
OLOROSO- is a sherry which did not grow flor. It i sthe fullest and richest- with nut, fig and prune flavours- but naturally dry. Some commercial brands are sweetened and often called CREAM sherries.
PALO CORTADO- this is rarely seen but is a style halfway between amontillado and oloroso(Christine's favourite!!)
PEDRO XIMENEZ- Rich,decadent and sweet! Like drinking liquid raisins and prunes. So divine even poured over quality vanilla ice cream.