Blog post by Paul Fogarty
With the sun starting to turn up more regularly, and now that we are serving light grazing platters at Oxford Street, my mind and appetite are turning towards sherry. I love sherry. There is something magical about the process of taking a wine made from the relatively insipid palomino grape and turning it into some of the most diverse, complex and delicious wines in the world. There is so much more to sherry than the dark, sweet drink of memory. It has been said that, in terms of the care and attention they receive from the winemaker, sherries represent the best value wines you can buy. Let me take you through the different styles, then, to see if you think there might be one for you.
We’ll start with the pale ones: Manzanilla and Fino. These wines are light, fresh and always very dry. Dry white wine is fortified with spirit and aged in oak casks that are not fully filled. Due to the particular climate in Andalusia, a yeast culture called flor takes hold in the barrel. This grows on the surface of the wine, consuming both any remaining sugar and some of the alcohol, and forms a protective layer that prevents oxidation in the wine. Time, the influence of the wooden barrel and the flor combine to change the flavours and aromas in the wine, giving it its distinctive “sherry” smell and taste.
Manzanilla, made only in the costal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, is the lightest, freshest style of sherry. Its character comes from the chalky soil and the thicker layer of flor it develops in the cooler humid climate. Tasting of green apples and showing a slight tang of salt, it is a perfect accompaniment to fish, olives and lighter vegetables. Manzanilla’s bolder sibling, Fino, is made further inland. Warmer temperatures and lower rainfall give it more body, while a more delicate flor results in a deeper yellow colouring and stronger aroma. It goes perfectly with smoked fish, shellfish, air-dried ham and grilled vegetables.
Two styles of sherry have a medium colour. Although both are made from the same palomino wine as Fino and Manzanilla, their journey to maturity involves both aging under flor and exposure to oxygen. Amontillado sherry starts life as a Fino. Aging under a flor ensures the wine retains some of its freshness and appley aromas. However, part-way through the aging, the winemaker adds more spirit, raising the alcohol content above a level that would support yeast. The flor dies and sinks to the bottom of the cask, where it breaks down and gives the wine a yeasty, biscuity flavour. Now the wine is exposed to oxygen. In most winemaking, this would be a disaster, but the winemakers of Andalusia have learnt to manage and control the oxidation of their wines. Over time, the wines darken and develop aromas of walnuts and coffee. Amontillado sherries might be sold dry or sweetened a little. They are delicious with spicy chorizo, smoked almonds, meaty soups and stews.
The second medium-colour sherry is called Palo Cortado. Unlike Amontillado, the breakdown of its flor is unintended and can happen at any stage of aging. Palo Cortado wines are dark in colour but relatively light in body and texture. They are always left dry and have nutty, coffee and dark chocolate aromas. They pair excellently with steaks (yes, you can drink sherry with your main course!), goat’s and sheep’s cheese and curried dishes.
Finally, let us consider the wines that have been fully exposed to air in the aging. These wines are fortified at the beginning of the process, preventing the development of flor altogether. They have a deep mahogany colour and rich aroma, giving one of them the name Oloroso (which means “aromatic”). Oloroso sherry can be dry, medium or sweet. The other fully oxidised sherry is the only one that is truly sweet. It is made from Pedro Ximénes grapes that have been dried in the sun to concentrate the flavours and sugars. Fermentation begins, but the yeast cannot really take hold. The lusciously sweet liquid is fortified and oxidatively aged. Its texture is viscous and silky smooth, and its flavour is of molasses, raisins and coffee. It’s amazing poured over vanilla ice cream!
I have mentioned the aging of sherries throughout this post but not said why it is so important, or how it gives the wines such complexity. The answer lies in what is called the solera system. A solera has a number of levels, and each level consists of oak barrels of wine. Each year, the producer draws off wine for bottling from the last level. He never empties the barrels, just draws off a given volume for bottling. The barrels in this level are topped up from the level above, creating space in those barrels to be filled from the previous level. A solera might have many levels, so the process is time consuming and can only be carried out with great care. Finally, the top level of the solera is topped up with new wine. Now imagine a solera that was established in 1875. Wine drawn from the bottom layer will include the blended produce of every one of the last 150 years. For me, the solera is where the sherry magic happens. Long aging allows these wines to undergo total transformation, while the constant blending gives layer upon layer of complex flavour. No other wine experiences the same care and attention or delivers the same value for money.
