A lot of people assume they know what sherry’s all about, and they assume it’s all the same, and that it’s not their thing. But within the description sherry there lies a broad spectrum of styles running from ice-cream sweet to mouth-pinching dry, and from pale as pearl to bitumen black. While this means there’s a style to suit all tastes, it may also mean you need to road test a few before you find yours. Working through the eight key styles and how they differ will be no hardship if you follow our recommendations from sherry expert Paula MacLean. As ever, the Hot Rum Cow team was only too willing to run the rule over her selection to offer a layman’s perspective. Behold the Magnificent Eight.

 

Fino

The biggest-selling sherry. A refreshing aperitif biologically aged under flor and protected from oxidation. The most delicate casks of fermented Palomino grapes are set aside for Finos and they are not aged as long as most other styles. It is pale and dry and typically around 15% ABV with tangy, nutty flavours.

Try: Inocente Fino by Valdespino. They say: A single vineyard wine which is savoury on the palate with flavours of green apple, sea salt and toasty yeast. Hot Rum Cow says: Mild, smells sweet but a slightly salty taste. Quite divisive – some loved it, but the distinctive yeasty taste of Finos is something that some may need to acquire.

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Manzanilla

A Fino-style wine produced around the port of Sanlúcar. The flor often grows better here than in Jerez because of the humidity, giving more of the flor characteristics and sometimes making the wine even more delicate. There is more salt in the air and soil in the coastal vineyards giving a more maritime character. Most Manzanillas are bottled between four and eight years old. The phrase ‘En Rama’ in this or other styles refers to an unfiltered sherry, which gives more body and aroma. The wine tastes as it would from the solera.

Try: Goya XL (Manzanilla En Rama) by Delgado Zuleta. They say: An authentic, mature Manzanilla aged an average of more than 10 years and a very limited release from selected butts of special finesse. A wine selected for the wedding of the Prince of Spain. Hot Rum Cow says: Tart and tangy with a taste of apple juice. Plenty of flavour but doesn’t overstay its welcome in the mouth.

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Fino/Amontillado

There is an intermediate stage between Fino and Amontillado, though you must legally call it one or the other, so producers call it the one it resembles the most. At least eight years old but still light with Fino characteristics and oxidative characteristics coming in as the yeast has died off.

Try: Viña AB Amontillado Seco by González Byass. They say: Pale amber, bone dry with delicate almond and hazelnut flavours. Hot Rum Cow says: Sweet caramel, toffee, smoky fudge for some, but for others too bitter. A stronger hint of alcohol at 16.5% ABV.

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Amontillado

A development of a Fino where the flor has died back and air gets in, developing a whole new complexity but staying dry. Aged longer than a Fino to the point where oxidative ageing begins and the wine is therefore darker.

Try: Tio Diego Amontillado by Valdespino. They say: Carefully selected one-year-old wine goes through eight criaderas under flor before being fortified to 17% ABV (killing off the flor) and returned for further ageing. Bottled at an average age of 15 years. Yeast, bread, dried fruits and a hint of toffee on the nose. Dry, complex with a well-balanced acidity. Hot Rum Cow says: Another bottle that polarised opinion among our sherry novices. For some it was Christmas spice, for others too bitter or acidic.

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Palo Cortado

A rare variety – only 1–2 per cent of wines naturally become Palo Cortado sherry. These start out as Finos or Amontillados with a layer of yeast but the yeast dies off and the wine ages through oxidation. This leaves the sherry with the aroma of an Amontillado but the palate of an Oloroso.

Try: Palo Cortado by Bodegas Tradición. They say: A subtle, delicate wine with an average age of 32 years. Extraordinarily complex on the nose with bitter, almond hints, a background of confectionery, candied fruit and nougat. Hot Rum Cow says: Very popular. Like a visit to a whisky distillery on the nose and reminiscent of cough mixture. Syrupy and at 19.5% ABV, moving more towards the character of a spirit or liqueur.

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Oloroso

It has always been a bit of a mystery why some wines develop flor and others do not. You fill your barrels and leave space for air or yeast and you wait and you keep classifying your wines. Oloroso is the wine you have when you get no flor. You may get more Olorosos from certain vineyards or if you press the grapes harder. Aged oxidatively from the start, the wines are more highly fortified and are darker and richer.

Try: Río Viejo by Lustau. They say: From a solera founded in 1918. Mahogany in colour with smoky wood aromas. Flavours of walnut and bitter chocolate. Well balanced with a long aftertaste. Hot Rum Cow says: The biggest hit of the tasting session. Smooth and premium feel, tasting of butterscotch, nuts, biscuits and butter. A warmer for in front of the fire.

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Cream

Essentially a blend. In the best sherries it’s a blend of Oloroso with PX. In the past, until Finos came on the market, bodegas mostly shipped creams because with the fortification and sweetness they always arrived in good shape. Consequently, there are some very famous creams, particularly in the UK.

Try: Canasta Cream by Williams and Humbert. They say: Sweet Oloroso aged for five years blended with PX grapes. The top-selling cream sherry in Spain. Very pleasant on its own, with desserts or over ice. Hot Rum Cow says: The closest reminder to the sherries of our youths (though still a country mile better). Butter toffee, confectionery and a pleasant reminder of all those trifles.

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PX

PX refers to Pedro Ximénez, the grapes used to make this sweet style of sherry. It is made using patas – sun-dried raisins – with fermentation stopped early by the addition of the spirit. The longer it is allowed to age in the barrel, the blacker it becomes as it develops aromas like coffee and chocolate. Generally used as an after–dinner wine.

Try: Venerable 30 Años PX by Osborne. They say: Taken from a 1790 solera. A rich blend of dark chocolate, molasses,and prunes. It is round, big, and elegant in the mouth, and has won international accolades. Hot Rum Cow says: Liquid fruitcake, Christmas puddings, burnt raisins and Covonia cough mixture all detected. Spectacularly viscous and certainly not what you might call a ‘session sherry’.

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Visit Paula’s sherry blog at www.jerez-xeres-sherry.blogspot.co.uk

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