From the New York Times (it always seems like a good idea to snitch the entire article, as the site requires registration and articles must be paid for after a week or so!):
May 14, 2003
Echoes of Spain in Just a Few Sips
By FRANK J. PRIAL
If I had a thousand sons," Falstaff pronounced, "the first humane principle I would teach them should be, to forswear thin potations and to addict themselves to sack."
"Sack," of course, is sherry, and endorsements don't get any better than that. Sadly, even a plug from Shakespeare has done little to kindle much enthusiasm for sherry. A renowned wine when the great Bordeaux vineyards were still swamps, sherry seems to hold little attraction in the wine market. An exquisitely made product, it commands prices often lower than those of many crudely made table wines. As a result, fine sherry is truly an unheralded bargain in the wine world.
In a sampling of 21 fino sherries this month, the Dining section tasting panel found that the quality of the wines was exceptionally high, especially so when considering that the average bottle price was under $14, with six at $9 or less. The impetus for a sherry tasting started with talk of travel to Spain, which inspired ruminations on tapas bars, here and abroad, which led one of our panelists, Eric Asimov, to say that for him, there is no greater accompaniment for tapas than sherry.
Our sherry panel consisted of two regulars, Mr. Asimov and me, and two guests, Joseph D. Scalice, the wine director and an owner of March, and Ron Miller, the maître d'hôtel of Solera, a Spanish restaurant in Manhattan. Our overall, highly untechnical impression: beautiful wines, beautifully made, sadly underrated.
And we all agreed that more than a few of them were food-friendly wines. "Food brings out the different characteristics of these wines," Mr. Miller said.
The panel's best value, the well-known fino, Tio Pepe, from Gonzalez Byass, was $12 and received three stars. The top-rated wine in the tasting, at three and a half stars, was an amontillado from Sanchez Romate that sells for $17. Another fino we liked, also from Romate, sells for an astonishing $7 a bottle and also garnered two and a half stars.
Why are prices of good sherry so low? It's all about the way people drink these days. A pale, chilled fino sherry is a delicious aperitif, but Americans prefer table wine as a pre-dinner drink. For millions, California chardonnay, with its heavy body, oaky and vanilla taste, is the aperitif of choice.
There are two basic types of sherry, finos and olorosos. Finos, which include those labeled fino, manzanilla and amontillado, grow an indigenous yeast called flor on their surface as they age in barrels. The flor protects the wines from oxidation. The heavier olorosos serve as the base for the medium, sweet and cream sherries preferred in Northern Europe and North America. These wines are often consumed after dinner, like port. All the wines we tasted were finos or derivations of finos. We included two palo cortado sherries, which fit somewhere in between finos and olorosos.
To connoisseurs, fino is the ultimate sherry, especially the finos of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, the seacoast town not far from Jerez de la Frontera, the traditional capital of the sherry region. There the sea breezes help to nourish a luxuriant growth of flor that produces the most delicate of finos, known as manzanilla. The third important fino style is amontillado. The name has come to designate any medium-dry sherry, but an authentic amontillado is actually an aged fino, a wine on which the flor has finally died off, usually after six or eight years. The freshness of a young fino is replaced by a delicate, nuanced wine with a delicious nutty flavor.
Sherry is blended. Younger wines are constantly added to the barrels as old wine is drawn off. The collection of barrels in which this is done is called a solera. Some soleras date to the Peninsular Wars. Pedro Domecq, for example, has a solera whose base wine is more than 200 years old.
Two centuries is rather a brief period in sherry's history. There is evidence that grapes were grown and wine made in this part of Andalusia at least 1,000 years before the Christian era.
Sherry is made almost exclusively from the palomino grape. It is a fortified wine, boosted up to at least 15.5 percent alcohol by the addition of grape brandy. Some wines we tasted went as high as 20 percent alcohol.
The panel's favorite was the Sanchez Romate NPU amontillado. Mr. Miller praised the flavors of nuts and orange rind, Mr. Asimov found it "complex and delicious." The Tio Pepe, one of the world's best-known sherries, got a rare unanimous vote from us — each judge gave it three stars. It was, as Mr. Asimov portrayed it, "beautifully briny and bone dry." There were two Dios Baco sherries in the tasting; one made the top 10. We learned at the tasting that Mr. Scalice serves as a consultant to Dios Baco. But our tastings are blind, and none of us were able to identify the sherries by brand.
These light finos, by the way, should always be served well chilled.
Mr. Scalice and Mr. Miller both said that they have seen more and more customers willing to follow their recommendations to try certain sherries. But will it ever rival its popularity in Spain, where Mr. Scalice was once told, "It's one sherry by 11 in the morning; or is it 11 sherries by 1?"
Tasting Report: For Sherry, Appealing Nutty Aromas and Flavors
Sanchez Romate NPU Amontillado Reservas Especiales
$17
*** 1/2
The favorite: great character, great structure, an exemplary version of what these wines should be, Frank J. Prial said. Eric Asimov found it complex and delicious. Joseph D. Scalice judged it very pleasing, and Ron Miller loved the flavors of nuts and orange rind.
BEST VALUE:
Gonzalez Byass Tio Pepe Fino
$12
***
A rare unanimous rating: Typical, well made and true to character, Miller said. Scalice called it very clean and elegant. Asimov found it beautifully briny and bone dry, while Prial said it set a high standard.
Valdespino Inocente Fino
$12.50
***
Scalice found a robust flavor with citrus and mineral aromas. Asimov detected a walnut aroma and called it complex. Prial enjoyed its delicacy and the nutty touch of its flavor. Miller found a citrus quality and good acidity.
Hidalgo Jerez Cortado
$17
***
Like a salty caramel, Asimov said. Prial liked the nose and the complexity. Miller found appealing hazelnut, almond and quinine qualities. Scalice also tasted quinine and wondered whether it was too dry.
Lustau Solera Reserva Dry Amontillado Los Arcos
$12
** 1/2
Dry and pleasant, Scalice said, like a sherry you expect to taste in Spain. Prial found a nice finish and good body, but the nose was a bit off. Scrumptuous, Miller said; he guessed that Pedro Ximénez, a grape that makes sweet sherries, might have been added. Asimov found it delicious.
Lustau Almacenista Amontillado
$29
** 1/2
Elegant and balanced with saddle soap and leather aromas, Asimov said. Scalice found leather and orange aromas. Prial felt something was lacking in the middle, but Miller said the flavors developed with repeated tastings.
Dios Baco Amontillado
$17
** 1/2
Well made, Prial said, with a honeyed sweetness that he liked. Miller liked its nutty sweetness, its richness and the flavor of orange rind. Scalice called it harmonious, with caramel, sugar and spice flavors. But Asimov likened it to a Madeira and found it a little out of balance.
Hidalgo Manzanilla Pasado
$28
** 1/2
Heavier bodied with a taste like a bracing mouthful of seawater, Asimov said. Scalice tasted smoke and almonds and a full, rich flavor that unfolded gradually. The nutty flavor reminded Miller of an aged fino. Prial, too, detected age but said it retained its freshness.
Sanchez Romate Fino
$7
** 1/2
Prial liked the finish and detected an olive aroma. Miller, too, smelled olives and nuts, though he felt it could use more aging. Scalice found a long, pleasing aftertaste. Asimov liked the salty aroma but wished that it was crisper.
Sandeman Don Fino Superior Fino
$11.50
**
Miller detected a mild floral character and liked its intensity. Prial found a chemical aroma but called it fresh. Scalice said it was pleasing, with mineral qualities and complexities. Asimov disagreed, but found it clean and crisp.
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