Sherry comes from Andalusia, a region in southern Spain famous for Arab fortresses, flamenco, bullfighting, and horsemanship. It remains a mystery how the temperamental southerners have enough patience to produce one of the most "slow", complex, and labor-intensive wines. Sherry is named after the city founded possibly by the Phoenicians and certainly existing since Roman times. The winemaking tradition here is older than in Champagne. The cities of Jerez de la Frontera, Puerto de Santa María, and Sanlúcar de Barrameda form a classic triangle, within which the best vineyards grow on white chalky soils.
Producing sherries requires not only time and patience but also a lot of space. The rooms where barrels of wine are stored are often compared to church cathedrals. Spacious sherry cellars with multi-tiered rows of barrels and high columns indeed evoke almost religious awe. Some are decorated with vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows, making them even more reminiscent of actual temples.
The barrels of wine are stacked not in a random order but according to a specific structure known as the solera. The solera is the main technological secret and hallmark production difference of sherries from other wines. In brief, the system works like this: 600-liter barrels are stacked on top of each other (usually in 4-6 tiers) and connected. Young fortified wine is poured into the top tier, which then sequentially moves downward, blending and aging with older wines in the lower rows. The wine from the lowest tier is the final product, bottled as sherry.
Sherry spends at least three years in the solera. By law, only a third can be taken from the solera annually, so sherry is a product of complex blending of wines of different ages. Consequently, the label does not indicate a specific vintage year, although for some categories the approximate average age of the wines can be stated. Sherries over 20 years may be certified as VOS (short for Latin Vinum Optimum Signatum, English alternative Very Old Sherry), while those matured over 30 years are VORS (Vinum Optimum Rare Signatum / Very Old Rare Sherry). The date when the solera was established can also be noted: some have been in continuous use since the 19th century.
In exceptional cases, vintage sherries (from a single year) are allowed without the solera system, but such wine is very rare.
If the solera only provided mechanical movement of wine, the result would be the same in all cases. But that is not so. Different soleras produce different styles of sherry, which in the past was attributed to supernatural forces. Today the processes are well understood and under the control of winemakers, although natural mysticism still exists. About half of sherries are produced in a refreshing dry style. The other half are rounder, softer wines that can be either dry or sweet.
In hot Andalusia, and throughout Spain, Fino and Manzanilla are the most popular. Fino and Manzanilla owe their fresh style to aging under a layer of live yeast (flor in Spanish), which forms naturally on the wine's surface and protects it from contact with air. Winemakers in Jerez call this process biological aging. Both wines, like most other categories of sherry, are made from the white Palomino Fino grape. The difference lies in origin and stylistic nuances.
Fino can be produced throughout the entire wine region, while Manzanilla is strictly from the town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda on the seashore. The maritime influence affects Manzanilla's style: it is a more elegant, refined sherry than Fino. Light straw in color with invigorating, mineral-dry, even briny aromas, with hints of almond and herbs—both sherries are wonderfully refreshing. Therefore, they are most often drunk in summer, well-chilled before serving.
Recently, Fino and Manzanilla have become new hits in tapas bars outside Spain, especially in England. Perhaps this trend will reach us too. These sherries are best served with salted almonds, olives, or a thin slice of ham, as done in Spain. But they can also be served Russian-style—with herring and pickled appetizers, which many other wines cannot handle. Remember that Fino and Manzanilla do not last long in an open bottle; they should not be kept for more than a day or two.
Other types of sherry are aged in barrels with access to air. This gives the wines their amber color and, secondly, a rich, rounded flavor. When wine specialists say "sherry tones," they mean the flavor nuances of this group of sherries. When choosing a suitable drink, sweetness can be a stumbling block: producers do not always indicate the sugar content, so the same class of sherry can include dry, semi-sweet, and sweet wines. When buying, it is best to check this in the store. The exceptions are Cream and Pedro Ximénez, which always have high sugar levels. All sherries in this group are stable: when the bottle is opened, the flavor lasts for several weeks or even months.
Amontillado is often called an aged fino, but this is not entirely accurate. The wine indeed begins life as fino under a yeast layer, but then it is re-fortified and aged under normal conditions. Dry Amontillado features mineral, briny, and iodine nuances with delicate nutty tones. Some producers produce semi-dry and sweet Amontillados by adding a little sweet Pedro Ximénez, but this is done more to please consumers than to achieve a more perfect drink. Amontillado can be served with white meat dishes, fatty fish, and aged cheeses. Mature wines several decades old are excellent as a digestif.
Oloroso is more exposed to oxygen during aging than any other sherry. Because of this, it has bright aromatics, is rich and dense in taste, and also has a higher alcohol level. Today, dry olorosos are less common on the market than sweet ones. As with amontillado, the sweetness in the wine is achieved by blending in Pedro Ximénez.
Interesting gastronomic pairings for oloroso are consommé or soups with strong beef broth, dishes of red meat (especially with sauces to which a little of the same wine has been added).
Palo Cortado is a drink for sherry connoisseurs. Formally, it is defined as a sherry combining the refined aromas of amontillado with the structure and rounded character of oloroso. But this is a wine that is born by the providence of nature, not by the winemaker's will. A batch of young wine is laid down for aging using the fino technique (under a yeast film), but for some reasons, be it the position of the barrel, irregular yeast activity, or something else, the wine in some barrels develops according to its own scenario: aromas like amontillado, and taste like oloroso. The winemaker marks such barrels with a sign resembling a broken stick (that is exactly how palo cortado is translated from Spanish). This sherry is a good find for pairings with various complex dishes from seafood to meat and is excellent as a digestif.
Cream sherries are the most controversial category. At one time, they were created specifically for the British market, where they enjoyed wide popularity. Today, cream has lost its standing in England: it is called a drink for retirees. In Spain, some wine critics call cream an artificial category of little value. It is made by blending oloroso and Pedro Ximénez. Some have a simple cloyingly sweet taste, but there are also good wines with a bright raisin-nut flavor. The best use of cream is to try it with sharp cheeses, ice cream, or instead of dessert.
Pedro Ximénez, often shortened to PX, resembles black sticky molasses. Its characteristics are due to the eponymous grape variety, which is used exclusively for this style. Today, very few Pedro Ximénez vineyards remain in Jerez, so the eponymous wines are becoming rarer. Young wines are fortified and poured into barrels to 5/6 of their volume, leaving a gap for air. The result is a complex drink with a wide range of flavor notes: raisins, figs, nuts, caramel, chocolate, coffee, and others. The classic pairing for PX is dark chocolate, but aged Pedro Ximénez is tastier than any dessert.
Reference-quality sherries are produced by Equipo Navazos, but they are hard to find due to tiny volumes. Among the well-known large companies, attention should be paid to Gonzalez Byass (including the Tio Pepe brand), Domecq, Sandeman, Osborne, and Harveys. Medium-sized wineries with high reputations are Fernando de Castilla, Valdespino, Hidalgo, Williams & Humbert, Garvey. Separately, one should highlight the winery Lustau, which is interesting because it bottles sherries from small family soleras.
Sherry is a versatile wine that suits a wide variety of occasions and pairs with a wide variety of foods, including Russian cuisine. The main thing is to choose the right style. In our stores, especially in specialized wine shops, you can find all the main categories of sherry. Although these wines are not cheap, their prices are more than adequate given the labor-intensive process and long aging. Wine critics agree that this is currently one of the most undervalued wine categories in the world. It is worth taking advantage of the moment before others find out.
Based on materials from Gazeta.ru.