GRAPEVINE: Moving along the Sherry spectrum to richer, fuller-bodied expressions

Last week we looked at the South of Spain, in particular the region around Jerez which is famous for, and the benchmark of, Sherry production. A world away from the cheap, often overly sweet examples that until earlier this decade could be labelled as Sherry despite not coming from the southern Spain region.

This protection for the provenance of wines labelled as Sherry is an important step, as most of you will be somewhat unfamiliar with the wines, and differentiating between authentic examples from the region, and those not, is now a barrier you don’t have to contend with.

While some of the styles won’t be for every palate, you can be confident that you are at least getting a clear picture of what these styles represent.

Today we move along the style spectrum, from the bone dry, saline examples of Fino and manzanilla to styles which see a lot more oxygen in their production and therefore a richer, fuller-bodied expression of Sherry.

While Fino and Manzanilla are aged entirely under a layer of yeast known as Flor resulting in the bone dry, saline styles suited for chilled drinking as an aperitif or with some fresh seafood. If the wine in barrel isn’t suited to these styles though or the Flor doesn’t quite take hold, then the winemaker may fortify th wine to a slightly higher alcohol level around 17 or 18 per cent and allow the wine to continue developing in barrel with more oxygen getting into the wine. This style is known as
Amontillado and sits in the middle ground of Sherry production styles given it is made with both the use of Flor and oxidative oak aging.

The result is a deeper coloured Sherry, with richer flavours of nuts, woody/ oak notes and riper fruits such as dates and raisins. The wines are not usually sweet, but they are softer and rounder in their mouthfeel than the light, drier styles. Think of the difference between a crisp, unoaked Chardonnay and one that has been aged in oak for a few years.

As we move along the continuum, we move away from Flor aging entirely and reach the Olorosso style. An Olorosso Sherry will be fortified to 17 or 18 per cent alcohol early on to prevent any development of Flor and then left in oak to develop.  Here we move well away from any salty/ saline and yeast characters and fully into the deep, rich flavours of wood, dried fruit, earth, leather and sometimes a spicy note. Again these styles are not often sweet, although their higher alcohol content can give the impression of sweetness to the flavours and more viscous, rounded mouthfeel.

Both Amontillado and Olorsso have much longer shelf lives once opened than a Fino or Manzanilla, their higher alcohol content and oxidative aging process means you can keep a bottle open for at least a few weeks and maybe out to a month or two which makes them ideal to open up early in the winter months and enjoy progressively during the cold weather with cheeses, hearty soups, chicken and mushroom based dishes in the case of Amontillado or with richer meat dishes such as beef and lamb in the case of an Olorosso.

Lustau ‘Los Arcos’ Amontillado $19 – 375ml

This balances the two types of aging well, there are dates, raisins, and oaky notes sitting alongside the range of nutty flavours such as Hazelnut and Walnuts and a subtle salty edge. It is soft and has a honeyed richness to the palate, contrasting the sweet and savoury elements before finishing with a dry and fresh finish that cleans up the flavours nicely.