There is a world of difference between an Amontillado and a supermarket Medium/Medium-dry Sherry. Most of the latter are nothing of the sort, being blends of all sorts - olorosos, finos fuertes, PX and even rectified must - but not Amontillado - to produce something brown, full bodied and quite sweet with which the frozen northerners can warm themselves up.
Amontillado is a naturally dry wine produced by the oxidation of a fino after the flor has died off. It can be a fino-amontillado, still with some flor characteristics; an amontillado which with further ageing develops a deeper colour and a more profound hazelnutty aroma; or aged even longer into quite a concentrated wine. But it will always be dry - unless sweetened, obviously.
Now any Sherry aficionado can tell by the price that it is never going to be the real thing, but when these wines appear on shop shelves with the names of well known bodegas, what is the average consumer going to think? To them Amontillado MEANS medium. There is obviously a place for these blends, but why destroy the reputation of what is arguably the most complex of Sherries in this way. If consumers want medium, give them medium, but labelled as such.
One could mention the Tres Cortados available in litre bottles and made by the oldest bodega in Jerez, but I feel the point is already made. The only way forward for Sherry is to stick to being a fine wine and be promoted accurately as such. And promotion it needs - desperately - but let us please have wines labelled correctly.
PS I notice Gonzalez Byass have dropped the word "Amontillado" from the label of their La Concha.
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| Without this seal, it is not Sherry |
On that note. I had to come back to this post since I recently bought a bottle of Waitrose's Amontillado. I was intrigued by the fact that the bodega of origin is not the usual Lustau, but Sanchez Romate in this case.
ReplyDeleteThe wine is labeled as Amontillado. Well, after tasting I can confirmed that it has been sweetened. I felt somehow let down by the label.
Not the thing I was hoping for. Although better than a Harvey's Amontillado, less sweet and with a long (even dry) finish. Smoky as well.