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First of all we tasted some fino. This wine is fortified to 15% alcohol and a layer of yeast which in Spanish is called ‘el velo de flor’ forms naturally on the surface. A sixth of the butt is left empty so the yeast can develop. This yeast which occurs naturally in the area lives off nutrients in the wine, especially glycerine.
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The blending of older wine with younger ones in the solera system helps to maintain the yeast layer along with cool temperatures and high humidity. In the warmer months the area where finos are aged are watered several times every week to maintain humidity levels. When it is cooler this is normally done every Friday.
We sampled the wine straight from the butts and everyone was impressed with it’s tanginess and yeasty almondy taste. We did a second tasting mixing in some of the yeast with the wine giving it an obviously yeastier taste. This is how the people who work in the bodegas like their fino and it's only in the bodegas you can try it!
We moved on next to taste an amontillado. This is a wine that was originally a fino but had been fortified to 17% alcohol killing off the yeast layer. It was then left for two years in the same butt before being added to the last criadera of an amontillado solera. Without the presence of the yeast layer the wine goes through what is known as oxidative ageing. What we tasted had taken on an amber colour and had a very nutty taste but still with a tangy hint of the fino it had been before. The nose had a distinct caramel-like aroma although the wine was bone dry. For many people in Jerez this is the finest of the different sherry styles.
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With our mouths still puckering we went on to another bodega building where old oloroso was being aged. Oloroso never has a layer of yeast covering the wine as it is fortified to around 18% alcohol from the start. The wine we tasted had an average age of at least 20 years. Its colour was between amber and mahogany and had a very intense nose with lots of different aromas; walnuts, dried figs, wood, orange peel, to name a few. The taste of the wine really filled the mouth and lingered there for ages. This wine compared to the commercial brands of sherry so often seen in British supermarkets is like comparing the finest acorn-fed Iberian ham to a slice of cheap bacon. A few people in the group were now starting to reconsider certain prejudices that they had had against sherry!
Moving again to another part of the bodega we now tried a Pedro Ximénez wine. This is made from a grape of the same name. The grapes are dried in the sun for up to two weeks which shrivels the grape concentrating the sugar. After fermentation the wine contains a lot of residual sugar. It is then fortified and aged in the same way as other styles of sherry. |
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The wines are dark mahogany in colour and give off an intense aroma of raisins or molasses. They are viscous and very sweet without being cloying. The locals pour these wines over ice-cream, an absolutely delicious dessert!
Go to page 3 of Sherry
Read about our Sherry wine tour with Roger
Or view our tour of the Rioja wine region
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