Sherry is a
fortified wine. Alcohol, which must be derived from grapes, and is in the
region of 95% pure, is added at some stage or other, and in whatever suitable
proportion, but the Reglamento (the rule book) does not actually specify this, only
the minimum strengths required according to the style of the wine.
Wines from
the region were not fortified in the distant past. It was not until the arrival
of the Moors in AD 711 that distilling knowledge became available. Even then,
it was used in attempts at medicine, perfume and alchemy. In fact the wines
were never fortified until the growth of exports and the sack trade made it necessary - and more enjoyable to its markets - much later, in the XVI
century.
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| Arab-style alquitara still (Al-embique.es) |
In days of
yore wines in butts were loaded into the holds of sailing ships, as often as
not as ballast, for a journey which could easily take a week to reach, say, London.
The rolling about of the ship and changes in temperature caused the wines to oxidise more, and on longer
journeys, they matured more quickly, usually arriving in a condition quite different
to that in which they had been sent. Hence the style of Madeira or the East
India Sherries: deliberately taken on longer voyages for that reason. The use
of fortification proved a very useful form of preservative in the wine, and in
the past it was used less sparingly than now.
Interestingly,
Sherry is fortified to different strengths for different markets, but this is
due to those markets’ taxation regimes. As of 4/6/2014, the UK excise duty on a
standard 9 litre case of Sherry is a whopping £32.79 (plus VAT of course), but
at least that covers all fortified wines between 15% and 22% volume. In some
countries there are multiple rates of tax. The UK duty on table wines up to 15% vol is £24.60 (+VAT).
Fortification
is also used by Sherry producers as a tool. If, for example a wine has some
fairly thin flor and apparently can’t make up its mind whether to be a Fino or
not, then the producers will make the decision and fortify it up to 17 or 18% to
be Oloroso/Palo Cortado. Then there is
Jan Pettersen of Rey Fernando de
Castilla, who re-fortifies his Antique Fino to 17% vol as he feel it is
better that way. I myself remember Finos in the 1960s and 1970s which were even
stronger still – and not half as good. So fortification has been reduced generally,
both for cost and quality reasons - and, of course, because wines reach their destination much more quickly now. With Finos and Manzanillas, fortification to15-15.5% is necessary, as the desirable yeasts (Flor) can stand it, but undesirable (such as vinegar) yeasts cannot.
But what
about the viability of wines without any fortification? Nowadays, they are
transported very much quicker, in refrigerated transport if necessary, and
Sherry is exported in bottle without any lees to cause trouble. One wonders if
fortification is still necessary. The answer to that is yes, but not always. As
already mentioned, it is useful in the bodegas, and change would cause chaos,
but some wines are now being produced without fortification, and give us a glimpse
of how they might have been in the past. Innovation is not a great tradition in
Jerez, but recent ideas such as Lustau’s
Almacenista range, Barbadillo’s Solear
En Rama, VOS/VORS, table wine and even sparkling wine have been noticed. Innovation
is in and might well help in the revival of Sherry – by revisiting the past. (Remember Cayetano del Pino's Sparkling Sherry?)
Back in
2005, Equipo Navazos came about when
two friends and Sherry lovers found an old unused solera of magnificent
Amontillado and decided to buy some and bottle it for themselves. This has developed
into a business, and the wines they bottle have won great praise. They have very
enquiring minds, and have given immense thought to the wines of the past, which
they like to call “Natural Sherries”, but they don’t qualify as “Sherry” officially, as they have lower than permitted alcohol contents.
First they
came up with a wine called Vino Blanco Navazos
Niepoort, first produced in 2008 with the winemaking skills of Port
producer Dirk Nieport and help from Vilaviniteca owner Quim Vila. This is a wine
with a natural strength of 12.5% made from Palomino grapes grown on pure
Albariza soil near Sanlucar, fermented in butts with natural yeast and bottled
after four or five months under Flor. It is an amazing wine with yeasty,
slightly oxidative apply notes, very close to how one imagines wines were in
the mid XVIII century.
Then they
came up with the brilliantly named Vino
Blanco MMX Flor Power (bottling No. 44). This is based on the same premise,
but more intense, as it is aged longer – 8 months in 15 sherry butts then 24
months in stainless steel tanks – all under Flor, which reduces the alcohol
content to 11,5%. It was bottled in 2013 and is now available. They also have a
similar project in Montilla, called OVNI.
Another new
project is under way at Bodegas Luis
Perez in Jerez. This small family owned bodega, established as recently as
2002, is mainly involved with the production of high quality table wines. Their
Petit Verdot is already acclaimed and they have just launched a Tintilla. This
wine undergoes a second phase of ageing in an amphora 12 metres under the sea.
Last year the
bodega bought the famous 30 hectare Viña El Corregidor vineyard in the
Carrascal (once Sandeman), with the intention of also producing a vintage
unfortified Sherry. The plan is to age it for 4 years under Flor. This means it
will need grapes containing more sugar (16% alc vol in the base wine) to give
it the higher strength needed as the Flor will reduce that strength. They will
need to harvest 2-3 weeks later to achieve this, but experiments in 2013
achieved 16.3%. It will be fermented in 18 butts seasoned with Fino but cleaned
of yeast sediments. After fermentation the butts will be filled fuller for
ageing, leaving less than the traditional “two fists” of headspace, to avoid
excessive Flor. All augurs well so far. Apparently the experimental 2013 is
very good with good acidity, lots of bitter almonds and minerality, and very
long.
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| Spectacular Bodega: Luis perez |
Jerez’s
most famous journalist, Paz Ivison, asked Cesar Saldaña of the Consejo Regulador
what his view was on these matters. He was very interested personally, and
pointed out that the DO Jerez should be what its producers want it to be, any
changes, however, would have to go through endless bureaucratic processes as
far as Europe, but it is not impossible.
On a slightly less spectacular note, there is of course, Bodegas Tejero Moreno who own 38 hectares in Jerez Superior. They make a range of basic Sherries but have also been producing Vino de Aguja (lit. "Needle Wine") which is a slightly sparkling wine made from Sherry grapes since 2004. Light and refreshing, it is an everyday drink of no great sophistication.
Not so long ago the Viticultores de Jerez produced not only an Ice Wine, but a low-alcohol wine, but these did not last long on the market. (see separate post) Over the years many ideas have been tried, and
no doubt there will be more
interesting ideas. Let’s hope so, it is all to the good of the Sherry region.
{Some information gleaned from "Jerez se Mueve" by Paz Ivison in Planeta Vino (Proensa)}
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