BONE-DRY SHERRY STYLES A GOOD PLACE TO START

Many of the world’s great and unique wine regions continue to move out of reach for most wine drinkers. Their unique characters are not easily replicated and thus supply will almost always fail to meet demand as they are discovered, pushing prices higher and higher. From time to time some of these regions and wine styles will fall out of favour. Standards in the region may fall, the style may not suit the changing tastes of the market, companies may try to replicate the style only to dumb it down, whatever the reason we are left with the opportunity to drink one of the great wine styles in the world at prices that are both affordable relative to their peers and undervalue the quality on offer.

One of these regions is located on the south western coast of Spain, forming a triangle from Jerez to Sanlucar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa Maria. Commonly known as the home of Sherry, and no the only place in the world where the term Sherry may be put on the label. You may have had sherry in the past, but it may not have necessarily come from the Spanish region as the labelling laws were only changed earlier this decade to protect the provenance of wines from the region, much the same as the fact sparkling wine can only be labelled as Champagne if it comes from that particular region in France.

The sherry region would be too hot for most fine wine production, however the chalky marl soils which absorb the high levels of rainfall over the autumn and winter months then dries and forms a hard crust as the temperatures climb during Spring helping to prevent evaporation and locking the moisture in to keep the vines well hydrated as the fruit ripens. Being located near the coast though means that there is both more humidity and cooling breezes that blow in from the ocean. Conditions that are essential for development of one of the distinctive characters in sherry production; Flor.

Sherry production begins much the same as any white wine that you are familiar with, it is following fermentation where Flor comes into the picture. The wine will be tasted and graded and fortified before being transferred to barrels for aging.

The wine with the best potential for aging will be fortified, usually with a neutral spirit, up to around 15 per cent alcohol, which is where the conditions for Flor production are ideal. Flor is the term used to describe a ‘film’ of yeast which begins to grow on the surface of the wine as it ages, feeding on alcohol and oxygen rather than sugar to develop and thicken over time. As it thickens, it provides a protective barrier for the wine from becoming oxidized as it ages while other compounds such as acetaldehyde which give the lighter styles their unique aromas and flavours.

Fino and Manzanilla are the two principal Sherries that are only aged under a layer of Flor. These styles of Sherry are bone dry, almost too much for some. The difference between the two being their origin within the region, Fino coming from Jerez and Manzanilla from Sanlucar de Barrameda which is closer to the coast and is often more delicate than Fino with pronounced saline/ sea-spray notes. These bone-dry styles aren’t for everyone, but they are a natural place to start as we move to the richer, sweeter styles next week.

Valdespino Innocente Fino 375ml

A producer that is considered ‘traditional’ in the region for the insistence on long aging (typically 10 years for this wine, compared to 2 or 3 for many others), barrel fermentation and a focus on individual vineyards, all of which are rarely practiced if at all in the region nowadays. Intense to smell; yeast, salt/ olives, apple, and almonds, the palate is bone dry to the extent of being austere for a lot of palates with the flavours carrying through from the nose, intensely flavoured, yet light on its feet and finishing with a nutty almost bitter edge. A classic example.