In
Unit 5 of the Intensive Sommelier Training we studied the wines of the Iberian
Peninsula – Spain, Portugal, Sherry and Madera. On Days 1 and 2 we covered
Spain and on Day 3 we learned about the winemaking process, styles and flavors
of Sherry. We did not cover the Spanish Islands, Southern Spain nor go into
this much detail on Sherry in class. In this review I will complete my studies
of the Spanish Islands, Southern Spain, and Sherry wine production. I will then
review the 8 different Sherries we tasted in class.
Spanish Islands
The
Canary Islands lie nearly 700 miles from the Iberian Peninsula off the coast of
Africa. The islands were created by volcanoes and the region had a sub-tropical
climate. As unlikely as it may sound for such a climate, wine is produced
on most of the inhabited islands and there are 10 DO zones. The islands of El
Hierro, La Gomera, La Palma, Gran Canaria, and Lanzarote are each a DO zone and
there are 5 DO zones on the island of Tenerife. Phylloxera never reached
the islands so many ancient century-old vines are still producing wine on their
native root stock. Red wines are usually produced from Listán Negro, Negramoll (Tinta Negra), Malvasía
Rosada, and Listán Prieto (related to the pink Criolla grape of Argentina, the red País
grape of Chile and the Mission Grape of California). White wines are produced from a combination
of grapes including Malvasía, Gual, Forastera Blanca, Moscatel,
and Listán Blanco (Palomino). Once
the home of fortified wines, they now produce fresh vino joven styles
popular with the islands’ tourists.
Southern Spain
Wine
is produced in every autonomía of Southern Spain, including Murcia and
Valencia, which comprise the Levant region on the eastern coast. The most well
known are the dessert wines and Sherries.
Andalucía
Andalucía
runs along Spain’s southern coastline and it includes the DO zones of Málaga,
Sierras de Málaga, Montilla-Moriles, Condado du Huelva, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, and
Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The city of Jerez de la Frontera was known as “Sherish” (خيريز دي لا فرونتيرا) in
Arabic from which the British derived the term “sherry”. The region was
thoroughly influenced by a Moorish culture until the fall of Granada in 1492, which
brought an end Moorish rule on the Iberian Peninsula. That same year, 8
months later, Christopher Columbus set sail from Andalucía in hopes of finding
a route to the East Indies. This quest for the expansion of colonial
power and discovery in the Americas had an enormous impact on the future of the
Spanish wine industry, especially the fortified wines of Andalucía.
Montilla-Moriles DO
 |
| Montilla-Moriles DO is green region in the center of the map |
Montilla-Moriles
DO, to the northeast of Jerez, lent its name to the style of amontillado, although it is
legally barred from using the term on its labels in other EU countries. The
zone’s primary grape is Pedro Ximénez
(PX) and Jerez has received dispensation to import PX must from
Montilla-Moriles to compensate for its own declining acreage of the grape.
Wines in the style of sherry (fino,
oloroso, and amontillado)
are produced in both fortified and unfortified versions. The hot climate
of Montilla-Moriles enables the Pedro Ximénez grape ripens extremely well so
they naturally ferment to 15.5% alcohol which is ideal flor to survive and the
post-fortification strength of fino sherry.
Málaga DO
 |
| Málaga |
The
coastal Málaga DO is directly south of Montilla-Moriles and its specialty is
dessert and fortified wines. In the past it was a prosperous region that
produced its own wine and a supplied grapes to the Jerez soleras. Today Málaga
suffers from a decline in the international market for both fortified and sweet
wines.
Like
its neighbors, the dominant grapes are Pedro
Ximénez and Moscatel. The
grapes are dried for a period of up to 20 days on esparto grass mats (a process
known as the soleo) prior to fermentation. The wines are either
naturally sweet produced either from overripe grapes, the soleo or they
are fortified sweet wines. The fortified wines either retain natural
sweetness, or the winemaker restores it through the addition of grape concentrate (arrope). The fortified wines undergo solera
aging in American oak. Table wines from the region are released under the Sierras de Málaga DO. There are 5
ageing categories:
Málaga Category
|
Barrel Aging
|
Málaga Pálido
|
Maximum 6 months of aging
in oak
|
Málaga
|
6 to 24 months
|
Málaga Noble
|
2 to 3 years
|
Málaga Añejo
|
3 to 5 years
|
Málaga Transañejo
|
Minimum 5 years
|
The History of Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
Jerez,
Málaga, the Canary Islands with Porto and Madeira brought Spanish wine to the
New World (I’ll discuss Porto and Madeira further in my next review). So
important was Sherry, in 1519 when Ferdinand Magellan set out to
circumnavigation of the world he spent more money on it than on weapons. In
1587 English Admiral Frances Drake “acquired” from the Spanish armada nearly
3000 barrels of what he called “sherris sack” which ensured a market for the
wine in England, France, and Flanders. The
word “Sherry” is an Anglicization of Xeres (Jerez). Sherry was previously known
as sack, from the Spanish saca, meaning “extraction” from the
solera.
For
the next 300+ years Sherry was in high demand in Great Britain, in fact William
Shakespeare refers to the wine in his works. In the 17th and
18th centuries British companies such as Osbourne, Garvey, John
Harvey (now Domecq) founded wineries (bodegas). Unfortunately, in 1894
the region was hit with the Phylloxera plague and other nations throughout
Europe began producing “sherry” style wine, which lessened the demand for Sherry
from Jerez.
Then
in 1933 a Jerez Consejo Regulador was established and the region
received a DO status which launched a revival of the Sherry industry. By
1979, Jerez was exporting 200 million bottles a year. Unfortunately, much
of the wine has been of mediocre quality and the reputation of the region had declined. But,
there is currently an on-going effort to revive the Sherry industry with a
focus on producing better quality wine.
The Climate of Jerez
Jerez
has a warm Mediterranean and very sunny climate with 300+ days of sunshine and
the weather can be dramatically affected by the prevailing winds. The poniente is cool and humid whereas the levante is hot and drying and can send
the temperature in the growing season to 40°C.
The Sherry DOs: Jerez-Xérès-Sherry and Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de
Barrameda
There
are 2 DO zones today that share the same vineyards and Consejo Regulador:
Jerez-Xérès-Sherry and Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
There are 3 towns that form a “golden triangle” of production from which all
sherry wines must be shipped - Jerez de
la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda,
and El Puerto de Santa Maria.
The Grapes
of Sherry
 |
| Pedro Ximénez Grapes with Albariza Soil |
The
three authorized grapes are, in descending order of importance, Palomino, Pedro Ximénez (PX) and Moscatel.
Palomino (also known as Listán on the islands) produces neutral table wines but
is the preferred variety for dry sherry.
There
are 3 distinct soil types in Jerez. The albariza which are the most
important is the lightest soil, almost white, and best for
growing Palomino grapes. It is approximately 40-50% chalk, the rest being a
blend of limestone, clay and sand. Albariza preserves moisture well during the
hot summer months
and by law 40% of the grapes making up a Sherry
must come from albariza soil. The lower-lying vineyards usually contain more barros,
which is clay soil and the arenas, which is a yellowish soil with 10% chalk but with a high sand content. Both are considered
inferior for Sherry production and are principally suitable for Moscatel
grapes.
Vinification of Sherry
The Palomino grapes are harvested in early
September, and pressed lightly to extract the must. The must from the first
pressing, the primera yema,
is used to produce Fino and Manzanilla and the must from the second pressing,
the segunda yema will be used
for Oloroso. The product of additional pressings is used for lesser wines,
distillation and vinegar. The must is then fermented in stainless steel vats
until the end of November, producing a dry white wine with 11-12% alcohol
content.
The Solera System
The
fortified wine is stored in 500-litre casks that are made of North American
oak, which is less porous than French or Spanish oak. The casks, or butts, are filled 5/6 full,
leaving “the space of two fists” empty at the top to allow flor to develop on
top of the wine. Sherry is then aged in the solera system where new wine is put into wine barrels at the
beginning of a series of 3 to 9 barrels. Periodically, a portion of the wine in
a barrel is moved into the next barrel down, using tools called the canoa
(canoe) and rociador (sprinkler) to move the wine gently and avoid
damaging the layer of flor in each barrel. At the end of the series only a
portion of the final barrel is bottled and sold. Depending on the type of wine,
the portion moved may be between 5% and 30% of each barrel. This process is
called “running the scales” because each barrel in the series is called a
scale. Thus, the age of the youngest wine going in the bottle is determined by
the number of barrels in the series, and every bottle also contains some much
older wine than is stated. Sherry is aged in the solera for a minimum of 3
years. Old sherry butts are sold to the Scotch whiskey industry for use in aging
whisky.
Biological Maturation of
Sherry
Fino Sherry develops its unique
taste from the accumulation of acetaldehyde created by flor. Flor
(Spanish and Portuguese for flower) is film of yeast on the surface of
wine which is important in the manufacture of certain styles of sherry.
The
flor is formed naturally under certain winemaking conditions, from indigenous
yeasts found in the region of Andalucía in southern Spain. Normally in
winemaking, it is essential to keep young wines away from exposure to air by
sealing them in airtight barrels, to avoid contamination by bacteria and yeasts
that tend to spoil it. However, in the manufacture of sherries, the slightly
porous oak barrels are deliberately filled only about 5/6 full with the young
wine, leaving “the space of two fists” empty to allow the flor yeast to take
form and the bung is not completely sealed. The flor favors cooler climates and
higher humidity, so the sherries produced in the coastal Sanlúcar de Barrameda
and El Puerto de Santa María have a thicker cap of flor than those produced
inland in Jerez. The yeast gives the resulting sherry its distinctive fresh
taste, with residual flavors of fresh bread. Depending on the development of
the wine, it may be aged entirely under the veil of flor to produce a fino or manzanilla sherry, or it may be fortified to limit the growth of
flor and undergo oxidative aging to produce an amontillado or oloroso
sherry. During the fermentation phase of sherry production the flor yeast work
anaerobically, converting sugar into ethanol. When all the sugar has been
consumed, the physiology of the yeast change to where they begin an aerobic
process of breaking down and converting the acids into other compounds such as acetaldehyde. A waxy coating appears on
the cells' exterior, causing the yeast to float to the surface and form a
protective “blanket” thick enough to shield the wine from oxygen. This process
drastically lowers the acidity of the wine and makes Sherries one of the most
aldehydic wines in the world. Studies have shown that for the flor to survive
and thrive the wine must stay between the narrow alcohol range of 14.5 to 16%
abv. Below 14.5%, the yeast do not form their protective waxy cap and the wine
oxidizes to the point of becoming vinegar. Above 16% and the flor cannot
survive, the wine essentially becoming an oloroso.
Oxidative Maturation of
Sherry
Olorosso,
Amontillado, PX and some Muscat Sherries are aged oxidatively. The impact of
oxygen on the wine is greatly enhanced by the air present in the partially filled
butts. In these solera systems the introduction of young wine helps to retain
the character of the Sherry which would otherwise become more and more
oxidized. For most Olorosso and PXs,
sobre tabla wine is fed into the
system with younger wines to feed into another with older wines of the same
type. sIn the production of Amontillado
a fully mature Fino is refortified to 17% abv in order to kill the flor and fed
into an Amontillado solera system. Amontillados therefore have the aroma character
of a Fino mixed with oxidative aromas. However, the Fino character fades over
time and very old Amontillados can taste similar to very old Olorosso.
Classification and
Fortification of Sherry
Immediately
after fermentation, the wine is sampled and the first classification is
performed. The casks are marked with the following symbols according to the
potential of the wine:
I - A single stroke indicates
a wine with the finest flavor and aroma, suitable for Fino or Amontillado.
These wines are fortified to about 15% alcohol to allow the growth of flor.
I. - A single stroke with a
dot indicates a heavier, more full-bodied wine. These wines are fortified to
about 17.5% alcohol to prevent the growth of flor, and the wines are aged
oxidatively to produce Oloroso.
II - A double stroke indicates
a wine which will be allowed to develop further before determining whether to
use the wine for Amontillado or Oloroso. These wines are fortified to
about 15% alcohol.
III - A triple stroke indicates
a wine that has developed poorly, and will be distilled. The Sherry is
fortified using destilado, made by distilling wine, usually from La
Mancha. The distilled spirit is first mixed with mature Sherry to make a 50/50
blend known as mitad y mitad (half and half), and then the mitad y
mitad is mixed with the younger Sherry to the proper proportions. This
two-stage procedure is performed so the strong alcohol will not shock the young
Sherry and spoil it.
Styles of Sherry
Vinos
Generosos
are wines are bottled directly from a solera system and are officially known
as. Apart from Fino none of these wines sell in large volumes. They are often
sold at premium prices.
Finos are pale lemon wines that have pronounced aromas of almonds, herbs and
dough. Finos do not improve in bottle and should be consumed as fresh as
possible.
Olorossos are deep brown wines dominated by oxidative aromas such as coffee,
leather, spice and walnut. Very old Olorossos can develop very intense savory
notes and an astringent texture that is balanced by a small amount of sweetness
from added PX, even in wines labeled as dry. The PX also adds flavors of dried
fruit. The level of alcohol in the oldest wines can reach 22% abv.
Amontillados are amber or brown wines
that combine yeast derived aromas with oxidative aromas. Although the yeast
aromas slowly fade the older the wine becomes. Amontillados can be matured for
as long as Oloroso and they can reach similar levels are considered.
Palo Cortados are rare and considered to be among the finest sherries made. They are
described in the regulations as having finesse and flor character of an
Amontillado and the weight of an Oloroso. On the palate Palo Cortado can be very difficult to tell apart from both Amontillados and Oloroso which have
similar characteristics. Nevertheless they are nearly always wines of the very
highest quality and sell for super premium prices.
Manzanilla are wines that are matured
in the coastal town of Sanlucar de Marrameda qualify as Manzanilla de Sanlucar
de Marrameda, which is a separate DO to Sherry. The wines are made in the exact
same way as Sherry but the cooler more humid conditions guarantees a thick
layer of flor throughout the year. This results in wines that have a more
intensely tangy aroma.
Naturally Sweet Sherry
PX wines are deep brown and
intensely sweet, often reaching 500 g/l residual sugar. They have pronounced
aromas of dried fruit, coffee and licorice.
Muscat wines take on similar
characteristics to PX although they retain a certain varietal dried citrus peel
character.
Blended Sherries
|
|
Blended
Sherries are a very diverse group of wines officially known as Vinos Generosos de Licor. They range
from rare and expensive premium Amontillado and Olorosso wines to inexpensive
high volume wine that constitute the vast majority of the global sherry market.
The categories highlighted by the Consejo
Regulador are listed below:
|
|
Pale Cream Sherry
|
A
style that was invented in the 1970s and it became a runaway success. It is
typically a Fino sweetened with Rectified Concentrated Grape Must (RCGM).
|
Medium Sherry
|
Typically
blends based on Amontillado and naturally sweet Sherries. At times it comes
from a blend of Fino and Olorosso. Many larger volume Sherries are labeled
Medium.
|
Cream Sherry
|
Typically
blends based on Olorosso and naturally sweet Sherries. At best they bring
together different elements into a well-balanced and complex wine.
|
Age Indication and Vintage
Sherries
Prior
to the introduction of age indicated Sherries the consumer could not tell from
the label the age or pedigree of the wine as words like Viejo (old) had no legal definition. Four categories of age
indicated Sherries were introduced to overcome this problem. The VOS and VORS classifications of sherry were introduced by the
Consejo Regulador of the Denomination of
Origin Jerez-Xérès-Sherry in July 2000 for particularly fine, aged
Amontillado, Oloroso, Palo Cortado and PX wines. VOS, standing for Vinum Optimum Signatum in Latin
and Very Old Sherry in English, must be at least 20 years old
while VORS, Vinum Optimum Rare
Signatum or Very Old Rare Sherry, must be at least 30 years old. Vintage
Sherries that can show a vintage date on their labels are known as Añada. These are not only rare but they also are not aged in a
solera system. They are instead aged statically, never moving from their
original butt. Because flor cannot be sustained without additional new wines Añada Sherries have an oxidative character.
Learning Objectives of Unit
5 – Day 3: Sherry
At
the beginning of class lectures a list of learning objectives is provided to the
students. By the end of the class, the students should have a certain degree of
understanding from their own reading and the lectures and be able to provide
the answers to a list of questions. The Learning Objectives for Unit 5 - Day 3
along with the answers are as follows.
By
the end of class, students should be able to answer the following questions:
(1)
State the rough geographic location of Sherry.
Answer: Southwest of Spain in
Andalucia.
(2)
Describe the climate of Sherry
Answer: Significant amount of sun
(300 days per year) very humid, Mediterranean climate with low seasonal
rainfall, mild winters, extremely hot summers.
(3)
Name the principal towns of Sherry.
Answer: Jerez de La Frontera,
Sanlucar de Barameda, El Puerto de Santa Maria
(4)
Name grapes of Sherry.
Answer: Palomino (95%), Pedro Ximénez (PX), Moscatel
(5)
State the character of Albariza soil.
Answer: Chalky with a high degree
of calcium and limestone.
(6)
Describe the solera system and the role it plays.
Answer: A new wine is put into
wine barrels at the beginning of a series of 3 to 9 barrels. Periodically, a
portion of the wine in a barrel is moved into the next barrel down, and at the
end of the series only a portion of the final barrel is bottled and sold.
(7)
Name the styles and flavors of the different styles of Sherry.
Answer: Manzanilla, Fino,
Amontillado, Palo Cortado, Oloroso, Almacenistas.
(8)
Describe what flor is and the role it
plays.
Answer: Flor is yeast that acts as
a seal that eats acid and work anaerobically,
converting sugar into ethanol and gives Sherry its unique taste from the accumulation of
acetaldehyde.
(9)
Describe the attributes of any wines tasted today
Answer: See below
The Wines
On
the second day of Unit 5 we tasted the following wines from Sherry:
1. Valdespino Manzanilla Deliciosa
This is a clear white wine, straw in color, day
bright with HIGH viscosity. On the nose it is clean with intense earthy aromas
of wet sand, crushed seashell, dried herbs and salty sea breeze. On the palate
the nose is repeated with additional notes of white pepper and a salty
minerality. It has no tannin, very high alcohol, high acidity and a long
finish. This wine
is made from 100% Palomino, it was fermented in stainless
steel and spent over 5 years in a Solera in Sanlucar de Barrameda. This wine
retails for about $10 per 375 ml bottle.
2. Gonzalez Byass Tio Pepe Palomino Fino
This is a clear white wine, straw in color, day
bright with HIGH viscosity. On the nose it is clean with pronounced aromas of
yeasty bread, dried apple, with hints of iodine and a lingering nutty
character. It has no tannin, very high alcohol, high acidity and a long finish.
This wine is made from 100% Palomino. This
wine retails for about $17 per 375 ml bottle.
3. Valdespino Contrabandista Amontillado
This is a clear wine, dark amber in color at the core to orange at the rim, day
bright with HIGH viscosity. On the nose it is clean with pronounced aromas of pancake
syrup, caramel, toffee, autumn leaves and hazelnuts. It is off-dry with just a
touch of sweetness, no tannin, very high alcohol, high acidity and a long
finish. This
wine is made from 95% Palomino Fino, 5% Pedro Ximenez. This was my favorite in the
line-up as I think it has the highest value-price ratio. This wine retails for about $30 per 750 ml bottle.
4. Valdespino Palo Cortado Viejo C.P.
This is a clear wine, dark amber to mahogany in
color, day bright with HIGH viscosity. On the nose it has pronounced aromas of
dried fruits, golden raisins, hazelnuts, walnuts, smoke, citrus and clove. It
has no tannin, very high alcohol, high acidity and a long finish with lingering
notes of vanilla, dried fruits and a touch of tobacco. This wine is made from 100% Palomino Fino. This wine retails for about $45 per 750 ml
bottle.
5. Gonzales Byass, Apostoles, Palo Cortado
This is a clear wine, dark amber in color, day
bright with HIGH viscosity. On the nose it is clean with pronounced aromas of
fresh figs, roasted almonds, marmalade, honey, sweet pipe tobacco, damp earth,
orange oil, sea salt and walnuts. It has very low tannin, very high alcohol,
high acidity and a long finish with lingering notes of briny sea. This wine is made from about
95% Palomino Fino and 5% Pedro Ximenez. It was then aged for 30
years. The solera for this wine was created in 1862 in honor of her
Majesty Queen Isabel II. This was my second favorite wine in the line-up but if
cost were not an issue it would have been #1. This
wine retails for about $60 per 750 ml bottle.
6. Gonzalez Byass, Alfaonzo Oloroso Seco
This is a clear wine,
dark amber in color, day bright with HIGH viscosity. On the nose it is clean
with pronounced aromas of toffee, rum, raisin, caramel, coffee, toasted almonds
and dried plums. On the palate it has intense flavors of caramel, coffee,
toasted almonds and prunes. It is dry with a medium acidity, high alcohol, full
bodied with a medium+ nutty finish. This wine retails for about $16 per 750 ml
bottle.
7. Valdespino Ideal Pale Cream Sherry
This is a clear wine, pale
straw in color, day bright with medium+ viscosity. On the nose it has subtle
aromas of peanut butter, short bread and raisins. On the palate it is flavors
of overripe grapefruit, tangerine and mandarin oranges and white flowers. It is
very sweet, it has no tannin, medium acidity, high alcohol, it is full bodied
with a medium+ length finish. This wine is made from 100% Palomino Fino. This wine retails for about $16 to $20 per 750 ml bottle.
8. Tierras de Mollina Carpe Diem Malaga Añejo
U.V.
This is a clear wine, dark amber in color, day bright with HIGH
viscosity. On the nose it is clean with pronounced aromas of coffee liqueur,
raisins, maple syrup, honey, and roasted walnuts. On the palate is sweet with a
silky-oily texture but it is not too syrupy, it is full bodied, it has medium acidity, high alcohol and a very long finish. This wine is made from 100% Pedro Ximenez. This wine retails for
about $22 per 750 ml bottle, if you
can find it!
Observations
In
general I am not a big fan of wines that derive most of their character from
the production method rather than the grapes and terroir. This include sparkling
wines, sherries, ports etc. So, I have had very little experience with sherry as
most of the ones I had previously tasted were either in a WSET course on a
class I took while studying enology in college. I have never purchased a bottle
of Sherry nor ever dined with anyone who does so on a regular basis. There was
at least one Sherry-a-holic in the class who raves about these wines and drinks
them on a regular basis, but I can’t pretend to have any expertise on them. There
were a few in in the line-up that I found intriguing and worth purchasing so I’ll
have to explore these wines more in the futue.
No comments:
Post a Comment