Sherry - not just for nana

Before Christmas may be the one time of the year some of you buy a bottle of sherry. That sweet cream sherry is just the ticket to add to the trifle or tiramisu, while the leftovers provide a glass or two for Nana on the big day.

How sad that sherry is still seen as a “nana’s drink” or just something to cook with, rather than being perceived for the distinctive styles and qualities it possesses?

Sherry is a fortified wine, yet that term can be misleading as many of the fuller-bodied Australian and US reds on our shop shelves can actually have similar (if not higher) alcohol levels to the dry, fino and manzanilla, and sweet Pedro Ximenez (known as PX) styles.

Fino and manzanilla are racy and bone dry, produced with the help of flor yeast. The palomino grapes are fermented into dry wine and then fortified to 15% before being put into not-quite-full barrels, that 15% mark being a sweet spot for the growth of flor.

A layer of flor (literally a ‘‘veil’’) forms on top of the wine, feeding off any remaining sugars and alcohol, creating nutty, waxy characters and protecting the wine from oxidation. A solera system is used where as the oldest wine is drawn off for bottling, the now partly full barrels are replenished by the next layer of barrels, and those in turn by the next layer and so on.

When the flor dies off and the wine begins ageing oxidatively it can become an amontillado. Wines destined to become oloroso are fortified to 18%-20% and allowed to age oxidatively in barrel, gaining a ‘‘rancio’’ character. All these wines are traditionally dry; an addition of PX can be utilised to create sweeter styles.

Pedro Ximenez is both a grape variety and wine style, and lusciously sweet. The grapes are sun dried to dehydrate them, concentrating the sugars, then briefly fermented before being fortified to around 15% to capture that amazing natural fruit sweetness. Intensely sweet and lush, it is a dessert in itself and can be scrumptious poured over ice cream.

Bodegas Rey Fernando de Castillo is a new discovery for me. Based in the historic town of Jerez, the brand was formed in the early 1970s, its owners having previously been long-standing grape growers for some of the bigger sherry houses.

Norwegian-born Jan Petterson, who had worked for the Osborne sherry house, bought the company in 1999 with a group of investors, upgrading the bodega into the modern house it is today.

The company produces natural, unfined and unfiltered estate-bottled sherries to showcase the quality of the region. The Classic range allows you to dip your toes into the world of sherry at a very fair price, while the Antique range showcases the very best the company can produce.

Sherry can be challenging for the uninitiated, yet eye-opening at the same time.

 

Bodega Rey Fernando de Castilla Classic Fino
Price: $30-$32
Rating: Excellent

Grilled nuts, quinine, smoke, earthy touches, a tangy quality.

Classically bone-dry palate that may challenge the uninitiated.

Peat smoke, oyster shell, fig, nuts, a savoury aspect, developing mandarin zest with time.

Complex and engaging, gets the salivary juices going while crying out for food.

A chalky/fruit-pith element adds to the texture. Really grows on me.

www.fernandodecastilla.es

 

 

Bodega Rey Fernando de Castilla Antique Oloroso 500ml
Price: $75-$80
Rating: Outstanding

Gorgeous nose, Christmas fruitcake, salted toffee, nuts, spices, a creamy nuance, the nose draws you in.

Bracing acidity gives incredible vibrancy, rich yet dry.

Dusty stones, salinity, dried fruits, nuts, citrus peel, nougat, a delicious piquancy. Incredible complexity here, that chalky chewiness and grip evident.

Unfiltered, a touch cloudy.

A compelling example.

www.fernandodecastilla.es