Sherry Flashcards
What is Cabeceo?
The ‘Recipe’ for Sherry blends, usually sweetened blends
The blend is made up in a small qty, Cabaceo, it’s then applied to larger batches of wine
Sherry is the product of two DO zones, what are they?
Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Sherry with an Indication of Age
VOS - Very Old Sherry - Av age 20yrs
VORS - Very Old Rare Sherry - Av age 30yrs
Introduced by Consejo Regulador in 2000
i Wines subjected to Carbon Dating
ii Tasted by committee of Consejo Regulador tasters
iii For VORS Bodega must hold 30x what they want to sell, x20 for VOS
Introduced by Consejo Regulador in 2003
12 and 15yo Sherries
Age indication applies to the WHOLE Solera
i Consejo Regulador tasting and analysis done annually
ii Only 1/12 or 1/15 may be sold
Indication of Age applies to Oxidative wines only; Amontillado, Palo Cortado, Oloroso, PX
What am I?
Medium Gold, Med + aromas and flavours of
Lemon, Apple, Chamomile
Yeast, Yoghurt, Bread
Umami, Toasted Almonds, Hazelnuts, Wet Stones, Bruised Apple
Dry, low acidity, low alcohol, light body.
Pronounced Intensity with Med + Finish
Manzanilla Pasada
Where are the best Albariza soils found?
North of River Guadalete between Jerez and Sanlucar on gentle slopes
Hidalgo - La Gitana
Sanluca de Barrameda
Located very close to River Guadalquivir
6th Generation Spanish family owned
Own 200ha in Miraflores and Balbaina on prime Albariza soil
90% production = Manzanilla - Main La Gitana
10% range of other styles
Residual Sugar Dry sherries?
<5g/l
Palomino Fino What’s it like Yields Baumé Prone to?
Very, very neutral, so creates a blank canvas for Sherry making
Large bunches, Hi yields
Max yield 80hl/ha, easy to do (Spain av 55hl/ha)
Drought tolerant and highly disease resistant
Low sugar 10.5~12.5 Baumé (10.5 is legal min)
Very low acid (Flor can only live in low acid environment)
Prone to Oxidation, must be processed quickly. Mech harvesting helps
Vintage Sherry
Añada - Very rare
Shows the year harvested
Sherry does not enter a Solera, Casks filled and left to sit
Mostly Oxidative styles but Fino and Manzanilla do exist)
Most 20~22% abv due to evaporation
Name one company who regularly buys, bottles and sells Almacenista wines.
How are the wines labelled?
Lustau
The bottle also shows the name of the Bodega
When were Soleras first introduced into Sherry making
What happened before?
Soleras introduced mid 1800’s
Prev all Sherry were vintages like Claret
Palomino Winemaking for Oxidative Sherries
Base wine character?
Grapes from where?
Ferment process?
Grapes from Albariza and Baros soils on lower slopes, richer Must
Most grapes acidified
SO2 60~100g/l
Ferment S. Steel
Temp control with selected natural or cultured yeasts
Might be a starter ferment (Pies de Cuba)
1st Ferment Fast (tumultuous) +/-24c ~7 days to 10.5~11%
2nd Ferment slower @ cooler temps ‘till 12~12.5% abv
Results in Base wine - Neutral, darker than for Biological
Montilla-Morilles
Tech outside Jerez Production Zone but special derogation allowing PX to be grown and made
S. Spain, North of Malaga. Hot semi Arid, Albariza soils
PX grape dominant, usually Bush vines
Can make PX wine but export to Jerez Zone for Maturation
3 grapes allowed for Sherry?
Palomino Fino - 97%
Pedro Ximinez
Moscatel (Muscat of Alexandria)
What are the rivers in Jerez that influence climate and where are they?
R. Guadelete - Flows just South of Jerez
R. Guadalquivir - Flows into the sea just North of Sanlucar, that and (Marisma) marshes north of that create cooling at night and high humidity
How are vines normally planted?
How are they pruned?
In 1.15m x 2.3m Rectangle @ North/South to optimise sun interception
Traditional - Vara y Pulgar (Finger and Thumb), alternate spurs pruned each year
Modern - Simple Cordon, trellised on wires to facilitate Mech picking
Where is the Sherry region?
SW Spain
In Andalusia
Nr. Cadiz
One of most Southerly wine regions in EU
What is the maximum amount of Sherry that can be taken out of a Solera in any one year?
33%
What are the long and short names for those who act as Wholesalers who mature and keep stocks of Sherries but don’t bottle and sell directly themselves?
Bodega de Crianza y Almacenado
Almacenistas
Sweetened sherries
How made
Residual Sugar
Pale Cream - Fino + (usually) RCGM 45~115g/l RS
97% Pale Cream sold to UK - Biggest brand Croft Original
18mo Fino Solera + 18mo Pale Cream Solera 110g/l RS
Medium - Amontillado + (usually) PX (could be RCGM+Arrope)
5~115g RS
Cream - Oloroso + (usually) PX (could be RCGM+Arrope)
Biggest Brand Harvey’s Bristol Cream - Have own Bodega in Jerez
(owned Andrew Tan Emperador Brandy)
115~140g RS
What is Arrope?
Vino de Color
Rarely used but sometimes in cheaper blends
Boiled down Palomino Must 80% reduction blended
2/3 with 1/3 fresh Palomino Must and fermented to 9% abv
Sherry History
Xxxxx - One of the oldest wine producing towns in Spain, Xxxxxxxxxxx 1,100BC.
Year Person flees Spain, makes Sherry popular in Country
Year~year Person and his Xxxxxx empire contributed to Sherry’s success but also drove prices down
Jerez - One of the oldest wine producing towns in Spain, Phoenicians 1,100BC.
1587 Drake flees Spain, makes Sherry popular in UK
1950’s~1980’s Ruiz Mateo and his Rumasa empire contributed to Sherry’s success but also drove prices down
Barbadillo
Sanlucar de Barrameda
7th Generation Spanish Family owned
The largest Manzanilla producer
Only produce small quantities of other styles
Own total 1,000ha ha on hi quality Albariza soil
What happens to Sherry before it enters a Solera?
When is it decided what style Solera the wine will be put into?
To what %abv are the wines fortified and with what?
Stored in Sobretabla
Largely already decided but final selection in November by which time all the Sherries would have developed some Flor
Biological Fortified to 15% abv
Oxidative Fortified to 17~18%
Fortified with with 96% Neutral grape spirit (From La Mancha made from Airen grape)
Note: Most wine will be made in Biological style as
a) Can’t go backwards in the process
b) Biological Sherries still needed to feed Amontillado & Palo Cortado Soleras
The area under vine in Jerez and the smaller Sherry producing areas has reduced by 1/3 since 2002, why?
As a result of falling sales Jerez grape growers took full advantage of the EU grubbing up initiative between 2007 and 2011 that saw surplus vines uprooted to counter increasing wine overproduction in Europe.
What am I?
Med Amber, Pronounced aromas and flavours of
Yoghurt, Yeast, Bread
Toasted Hazelnut, Toffee, Coffee, Mocha, Walnut, Fig
Dry, Med (-) acidity, High alcohol, Med + (or Full) body.
Pronounced Intensity with Long Finish
Palo Cortado
Sherry region climate Tech term climate Sunlight hours Heating / cooling influences Winds? Av temps Rainfall mm, when?
Hot Mediterranean climate
Av 300 days sunshine = 3,000~3,200 hrs
Some Atlantic influence bringing cooler humid air
Poniente - Persistent Westerly from Atlantic, brings cool air and humidity
Levante - From SE, Hot, Dry wind. Helps keep Rot at lowest levels
Av 34c but can get up to 40c. Generally getting hotter = harvests earlier
Around 8c in Winter
Same rain as e.g. Leicester 600ltr M2 but Concentrated Oct~May
PX Winemaking
Pressing, grapes stacked several mats high
Ferment in S. Steel, partial ferment, yeast dies @ 5~8% due to sugar
Fortified with spirit to 15~17%
In Tankers —> Jerez for Maturation in Oxidative Soleras
Naturally Sweet Sherries RS?
PX
Moscatel
PX Min 212g/l RS, can hit 450~500!
Moscatel Min 160g/l RS
What is Mistela?
A mix of grape juice (unfermented or slightly fermented) + Alcohol to a Max abv of 20%
Used as a stable sweetening agent
