18.3.17 Universo Santi Staff Sherry Training

Staff of Universo Santi, who all have some kind of disability, have begun their training with a visit to González Byass to learn about Sherry from that “master of jerezology” (as Diario de Jerez charmingly puts it), Antonio Flores. During morning and afternoon sessions he explained to them how to distinguish the different types of Sherry and how they match the different dishes on the menu. He stressed the importance of promoting Sherry in this restaurant saying “Sherry is at a unique moment and we must take advantage of it. Sommeliers, waiters and maîtres play a vital role in the work we do in the bodega, because we can spend thirty years ageing a wine, but it is they who present it to the diner, they who can make or break our work.

Antonio Flores shows the staff round bodega La Concha (fot:diariodejerez)

Restaurant staff face a total of 200 hours of training, or up to 800 hours if their disability is mental. Antonio Vila, president of Universo Accesible which is behind the promotion of the project, says the restaurant is 95% complete with only the decoration, gardening and completion of staff training remaining to be done, and will probably open towards the end of this year. The kitchen from the late, multi Michelin starred Santi Santamaría’s Can Fabes restaurant has already been installed so that cooking staff can get the hang of it.

10.2.17 Whisky and Sherry Come Together at González Byass

Richard Paterson noses a glass of whisky with his now famous words “hello, how are you?” He is the master distiller of Whyte and MacKay, a much loved character, and known in the trade as “the nose”. He is at the González Byass bodegas in Jerez with his Sherry counterpart Antonio Flores, IWC Best Fortified Winemaker in the World, tasting each other’s product. The two have known each other a long time and meet at least twice a year when Richard comes to select the Sherry casks in which most of his whiskies mature.

Commercial relations between González Byass (est 1835) and Emperador-owned Whyte and MacKay (est 1844) go back over a century, but the encounter between these two titans of the whisky and Sherry worlds is special, perhaps unique as it is the presentation in Jerez of the single malts Dalmore and Isle of Jura, for which GB have just been appointed Spanish distributors. Not only that, but this is one Richard's most important stops on the world tour W&M have organised in homage to his 50 years in the whisky business. He is now considered a member of the González family, and he and Antonio created a real pleasure for the senses at the gala dinner the bodega organised for him.

In the presence of GB president Mauricio González Gordon and vice president Pedro Rebuelta and a select group of journalists, Messrs Paterson and Flores touched everyone with their passion for their unique products, the secret of their excellence and the search for maximum quality which both firms share. The two men are an example of the long standing symbiosis between Scotland and Jerez, and GB still have the receipt of payment for Sherry butts by W&M dated 1915.

Dinner consisted of a menu maridaje (tasting menu) proposed by Richard and Antonio, each dish accompanied by a whisky and a Sherry, from structured, muscular Highland malts to saline nutty Sherries via lighter, elegant blended whiskies to the personalities of malts from Jura and Speyside. Paterson presented Dalmore 15 years old as the aperitif before sitting down to a piriñaca salad with monkfish and langostines accompanied by Speyside malt Tamnavulin and Fino Tio Pepe. This was followed by ravioli of mushrooms, ibérico pork and foie gras and accompanied by Palo Cortado Leonor and Isle of Jura 16 years old. The main dish was fillet of beef cooked in Alfonso Oloroso, and this was matched with Apóstoles Palo Cortado VORS. Dessert was chocolate mousse with mandarin ice cream and Oloroso Dulce VORS Matúsalem, and Richard offered Dalmore 50 years old, a super-exclusive limited edition in celebration of his 50 years in the whisky trade. This incredible whisky was aged in a variety of casks: Bourbon, Sherry, Port and Champagne, but sells at a staggering 57,000€. There will only be 50 decanters of this nectar available.

Both Richard and Antonio have a gift for communicating their passion and entertaining their audiences. For Richard, every visit to Jerez is full of new surprises and discoveries because “González Byass is like an Aladdin’s cave, full of incredible treasures”, some of which he had found the previous day, to the dread of Antonio, who said humorously that his links with Richard are a “love-hate relationship”. Love in the sense of sharing wonderful moments with someone who really understands these things, and hate because he wants to take every cask which catches his eye. The evening drew to a close with one last surprise; the presentation to Richard by GB of a bottle of the firm’s Añada 1966, now almost unobtainable. It was 1966 when Richard began in the whisky trade.

To see Richard in action see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW1te_miu5I

To see Antonio in action see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB2aLOUaTsU  (Spanish)

                                          

An Interview with Antonio Flores, IWC Fortified Winemaker of the Year

Translated from an article by Á Espejo in today’s Diario de Jerez

AE – First of all, congratulations!

AF – Thank you!

AE – How did you receive the news?

AF – Well, in these International Wine Challenge awards which are considered the Oscars of the wine world, and work in much the same way as those in Hollywood, they make a shortlist of three which consisted this time of Manuel Lozano of Lustau, who died recently and won the award seven times consecutively, a Portuguese winemaker and myself. The names of the winners of the main awards are revealed at the Gala dinner at London’s Hilton Hotel, and it was there I heard my name announced as Best Fortified Winemaker in the World. It is a spectacular event, and was a super-emotional moment.

AE – A lot of emotion and I imagine a lot of nerves also?

AF – Tremendous nerves. I had already been nominated three times for Best Winemaker, but Manolo won, and whoever says they are not nervous at these moments is lying. You get very nervous and the heart beats faster. It has been a very special year for me.

AE - Was Manuel Lozano remembered?

AF – Definitely. I had – or rather still have - a great friendship with Manolo as I believe it continues from Heaven - where they now have a top oenologist. I would have loved it if he could have been present at the Gala, yet I felt his presence and even cried a few tears. I think the organisers did a fantastic thing, naming the award for Best Fortified Wine in the World after Manolo, and if my bodega wins this award, for the Cuatro Palmas for example, it couldn’t be more emotional. It was a full evening and definitely one to remember; all that was missing was Manolo.

AE – To whom do they actually award the prize?

AF – It was awarded to me, but it also belongs to the entire team at González Byass. We always say we are a family of wines and it’s true, we are a family of wines, so the prize is for all of the family, for those who are there now and those who went before. It is a prize for my father, for the capataces and members of the different generations of the González family who have managed to preserve a style and lineage in their wines – and it is also a prize for Jerez itself.

AE – As they say in Jerez you’ve been immersed in it since childhood.

AF – I was lucky enough to be born right above the foundational solera of Tio Pepe, the Tio Pepe Rebollo solera, and as I always say, it is not blood running through my veins, but Tio Pepe. These great awards for Manolo, for me, are very important for Jerez because they recognise the value of one of the world’s finest wines which is reclaiming its rightful place.

AE – Why did people lose interest in Sherry for so long?

AF – There were many factors in play. One is fashion, but also Jerez and certain bodegueros bear much of the blame. Making a great wine cheap means reducing its quality; and its recuperation means going back to its origins. I often say that there will be no future if we don’t take strength from the past; our predecessors did things well basing things on quality, the vineyard, the wine’s provenance. Now there is a move to return to the origins and doing so is allowing Sherry to recuperate its place in the world, something extremely important.

AE – The prizes are won, when will Sherry get the price it deserves?

AF - Little by little. What we call the Sherry Revolution is not the work of a day, a week or even a year. We cannot go back to the days of large volumes, days we must forget. We need to go for wines of quality and in reduced quantity, and the results will be apparent with the passing of time. It is unarguable that right now the consumer has a great opportunity with Sherry and is able to drink great wines at super competitive prices, and we ourselves need to believe it.

AE – This Sherry Revolution which everyone is talking about has an interesting mix of acclaimed winemakers and other young talents who are really pushing the boundaries.

AF – That’s the future. For me, one of the most interesting tastings at Vinoble was that of Pedro Ballesteros, Spain’s Master of Wine, about the “new avenues for Sherry” in which he sought to unite the present and future of Sherry. That there are highly educated oenologists who are well organised, have a vision for Sherry and are opening new avenues is very important, as is the way the Consejo Regulador positioned itself at this tasting in a very positive manner toward these new avenues. We winemakers in Jerez have always been very discreet people. In Jerez we don’t make “winemaker wines” like other regions; instead we have a much more important responsibility which is to be given wines of a particular style – and each bodega has a style – preserve these wines and above all, hand them over to the next generation in at least the same condition as we received them.

AE – Some of these new avenues include grape varieties which were cast aside for having lower production levels than Palomino Fino. Do you think the Consejo should authorise them once again?

AF – Here we chose the varieties which were most suitable and we should remember that a bodega is a business which has to operate profitably. But the diversity these varieties offer could be profitable with higher prices. At the moment we use three varieties: Palomino, Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel, but why not open the door to other varieties? But before that there is an easier job which is to recuperate the relationship with the vineyards, the pagos of Jerez, something which is already happening. Jerez forgot about the vineyards, but now they are being given much greater importance. I believe this is fundamental. People think that in the world of wine anything old is good, but I say it is not like that; I mean if an old wine is good it must have been a good wine when it was young, back when there was more care in the vineyards, respectful winemaking, and these virtues were able to be preserved. Now we can’t forget the bodegas either: Sherry is made great in the vineyards, and made inimitable in the bodega. These are the two great strengths of Sherry which must be preserved.

AE – González Byass is obviously investing in vineyards.

AF – The entire solera Tio Pepe Rebollo, which supplies Tio Pepe en rama, is from the pago Macharnudo, the Constancia solera is from Macharnudo and Carrascal, the two Jerez Superior pagos where we have our vineyards. And what’s more the Tio Pepe soleras consist of 20,000 butts comprising 21 soleras among which are the emblematic solera Macharnudo, solera Carrascal and solera Balbína, though we no longer own vineyard in the latter.

AE – It is noticeable that the oenologists are turning into the great Sherry communicators.

AF – It is one step further. The wine consumer wants direct contact with the winemaker and I believe that the communication course which Cádiz University is already doing in the oenology degree is very important in communicating what we do. We are in an area which has everything: tradition, history, quality, and we need to communicate this. I have conducted many tastings in the USA and Canada, and it gives me great pride to say that my bodega has a longer history than their city. The winemaker needs to get up from the table and get the wine across with passion and  belief in what he is communicating.

AE – Do you have new projects in mind that you can tell us about now?

AF – We have a wonderful project which few bodegas in Jerez could do. It is a big project, and like so many others, stems from the magnificent historic archive of González Byass. It consists of three grape varieties vinified sweet: Palomino – of which there are very few – Moscatel and Pedro Ximénez. We are one of the few bodegas in Jerez which has Pedro Ximénez and we hope to be self-sufficient in the future, without the need to buy in wine from Montilla. I hope these wines will be available to enjoy next year, but we are also working on new projects with old and young vintage wines, but they are still secret.

AE – Will the bodega continue using historic labels?

AF – We have been using these for the last seven years for Tio pepe en rama and for five years for the Palmas. The archive also provided a label for the new vermouth, and the majority of them are beautiful.

AE – What is the González Byass secret for staying at the fore-front for almost 200 years?

AF – The secret is that the family has invested a lot of love and dedication into the bodega. Capital which could have been invested elsewhere has been invested in Jerez and in quality. We never entered the buyer’s own brand market and suffered difficult times when everyone else opted to cut prices, but in the end we reaped the fruit. The González family is now into its seventh generation, and that brings complications. Having over 100 shareholders in a business in which not everyone can participate is very difficult but so far our president Mauricio González Gordon and our vice-president Pedro Rebuelta are managing to unite the family in the common project which is González Byass.

AE – A united family which maintains its links to Jerez.

AF – Absolutely. Jerez can’t complain about lack of support from González Byass and vice-versa.

AE - González Byass is also taking great advantage of wine tourism, so in vogue right now.

AF – We are pioneers in many things and we pioneered wine tourism when nobody else thought of it, and it is of great value to us now. We are the most-visited bodega in Europe and one of the most-visited in the world. Over 200,000 people visit every year and that’s very important as each one takes away a little of our history and culture and we’re putting Jerez on the map. It is one of the most visited monuments in Europe – well, I consider it a monument – and that is a source of economic wealth which is sowing the seeds for the future.

AE – It was inevitable that I would ask you about Bag in Box since the Junta has authorised its use.

AF – I don’t believe that is good for Sherry, and not because it has any oenological problem. It is a question of image. None of the world’s fine wines are packed in BIB. It is not good and González Byass will not be using it.

AE – What do you think about the resurrection of the old Domecq bodegas?

AF – It is very good for Jerez. The recuperation of Fundador, previously Domecq, is fundamental because it is one of the great bastions of Jerez. I Domecq disappeared from the wine map of Jerez it would be like Barcelona or Madrid disappearing from football.  That someone goes for Jerez, and not just for the brandy but also for the Sherry is a hopeful sign for Jerez.

9.7.16 Antonio Flores IWC Best Fortified Winemaker

Antonio Flores, oenologist and master blender at González Byass has won the 2016 International Wine Challenge Fortified Winemaker of the Year Award. He received it at the IWC Gala Dinner at London’s Hilton Hotel in recognition of his work in creating the Palmas range, the introduction of Tio Pepe en rama and his promotional work with #sherryrevolution. Meanwhile his 51 year old Amontillado Cuatro Palmas won Best Fortified Wine 2016. í Enhorabuena, Antonio!

17.2.16 New Jerez Restaurant; Antonio Flores Personality of the Year

A new haute cuisine restaurant is to open in Jerez staffed entirely by disabled people. Universo Santi will be sited at the Finca del Altillo, once the home of González Byass founder Manuel María González Ángel, and is named after the famous chef Santi Santamaría who died five years ago. His wife and daughter joined representatives of various foundations which support the initiative to present it at the Consejo Regulador yesterday. It is pretty certain that the restaurant will be open by the end of this year.

Yesterday's presentation at the Consejo

González Byass oenologist Antonio Flores has picked up another award: the Wine Up guide’s Personality of the Year in recognition of his professionalism and being one of those responsible for the #Sherryrevolution leading to the resurrection of Sherry to world status. Antonio gave a Sherry masterclass during the ceremony at the Museo Torre del Vino in Socuéllamos (Ciudad Real).

An Interview with Antonio Flores

From an interview with P Heredia in La Voz Digital Cádiz

The chief oenologist at González Byass, responsible for the firm’s top quality wines which have recently scooped many awards, was born in the bodega, his father being production director there. He is well travelled, having conducted tastings all over the world.

González Byass wines have triumphed in the Decanter World Wine Awards and the International Wine Challenge, two prestigious British competitions. What was the key?

Maintaining our style of winemaking and ageing. Also bringing back some styles of wine which have been virtually forgotten like the Finos Palma, which represent the best of biological ageing and selection in the bodega.

How should one drink the Amontillado Cuatro Palmas, a Tio Pepe aged to an amazing 48 years, and winner of an International Trophy?

It should be drunk slowly, with enough time to be able to appreciate all it offers: subtlety, power, structure. It is a Tio Pepe with nearly half a century of ageing, the authentic perfume of Jerez, a “vino de pañuelo” (a “handkerchief” wine = so aromatic it can be used as perfume).

How do you make a champion wine?

Right from its birth, one chooses the best soil, selects the best juice, gives it careful treatment and ages it in the best butts and helps it along the way so that it expresses itself at its best.

How is the brand “Sherry” at the moment?

There is hope, Sherry is in fashion and is beginning to regain its place among the world’s fine wines with the help of gastronomy and younger drinkers.

Can the wine sector empower the economic recuperation of the area?

It can, and it should. Sherry has historically represented a fundamental pillar of its economy, not just in the three Sherry towns of Jerez, Sanlúcar and El Puerto de Santa María, but for the whole Bay of Cádiz area.

Antonio at work (foto:lavozdigital)

It is said that Sherry is the drink of more mature people. How can we get younger people to appreciate it?

We need to let them see that Sherry is part of their culture, that it is the best and most noble fermented drink in the world, and that it offers pleasure and health.

For someone inexpert in these wines, what do they need to know?

You should approach Sherry without fear, you don’t need to be an expert to enjoy it.  Knowledge will be acquired little by little when the wine is enjoyed in company.

Is Sherry well promoted at home and throughout the world? Is it more highly regarded abroad?

I believe that neither the bodegas collectively nor the Consejo Regulador are skimping on promotion. It is a slow process with long term results. We have come through a long crisis where resources have been scarce. Nobody can read the future but we are moving forward little by little knowing we should be proud to be able to enjoy a unique wine at an unbeatable price.

As the oenologist and master blender at González Byass, what is your favourite Sherry?

Amontillado Viña AB, a wine in between two types of crianza: biological and oxidative, a seductive wine of real character which leaves nobody indifferent.

What is the next challenge for González Byass?

González Byass Family of Wine as its name indicates is formed of bodegas all over the viticultural map of Spain. Our objective is to be represented in the most important areas. Beyond that, we are always aiming for quality, innovation and sustainability, but we never forget that Sherry is at the very heart of our Family of Wine.

What Would William Shakespeare and Antonio Flores Talk About?

This is a translation of an interesting article by Javier Estrada in the Vida Vid Vino magazine kindly sent to me by academic and Sherry aficionado, José Luís Jiménez. Read on:

Without doubt it is a fantasy, an unrealisable dream, but one can nonetheless imagine the legendary English writer and the famous González Byass oenologist meeting here to talk about Sherry. It is well known that Shakespeare and his friend and fellow dramatist, Ben Johnson, used to go out to drink Sack (the old word for Sherry) in the London taverns back in 1590 where they fell into eternal discussions. Antonio Flores is not only a winemaker, but also a keen student of the wines he makes. 

Joining Antonio and William is José Luís Jiménez, from the San Mateo district of Jerez and leading world expert in references to Sherry in the life and work of the English poet and dramatist. The journey begins almost 200 years before Shakespeare arrives in London, when Sir John Falstaff, a character in Henry IV, ends a glorious monologue saying “If I had a thousand sons, the first humane principle I would teach them is to forswear thin potations and addict themselves to Sack."

Falstaff with a jug of sack (foto:en.wikipedia.org)

William Shakespeare was the greatest publicist for Sherry of the era. He mentioned it over 40 times in 8 of his works as well as drinking it enthusiastically in the London taverns. “Shakespeare would have to adapt his palate to the Sherry of today which has little to do with the wines he drank”, explains Antonio, “In the Jerez of today the Palomino Fino is the predominant variety, but in Shakespeare’s time many other varieties were drunk, mainly reds but also white wines and darker wines. We suppose that the whites would have been the equivalent of today’s Finos and that the darker ones would have been Olorosos. When Shakespeare refers to a Sherrish Sack, he probably meant Oloroso. At that time the solera system didn’t exist, so there would have been Oloroso and Fino style vintages.

Jose Luis Jimenez, Antonio Flores at the bodega(foto: vida vid vino)

José Luís Jiménez, a member of the Real Academia de San Dionisio de Ciencias, Artes y Letras is currently working in the municipal archive of the Jerez Council. “William Shakespeare moved from his native Stratford upon Avon to London in about 1590. Two years beforehand, the pirate Sir Francis Drake had raided ships in the port of Cádiz which had recently been loaded with food and wine and were ready to set sail to deliver it to the Invincible Armada which was waiting in Lisbon for the order to invade England. Drake stole no fewer than 3,000 butts of wine, so by the time Shakespeare arrived in London the taverns were awash with Sherry.”

In fact, he mentioned Sherry in his first work of 1589 – and titled it “Sherrish Sack”. There are documents, however, which show that were already English merchants based in Jerez who were selling the wine in the XV century. Indeed in the IX century the Vikings sacked Sevilla and got as far as Córdoba, so the route was known, and possibly the wine too.

Antonio & Jose Luis still at it! (foto:vida vid vino)

Antonio mentions the book written about Sherry by González Byass founder, Manuel María González Ángel, which explains the importance of the effect on wine of a sea journey, “since there are references to these almost from the discovery of America, and of course these characterful wines would have been drunk in London. They were very expensive and much appreciated.” They were loaded onto ships, crossed the equator, and returned untouched. They travelled as ballast in the lowest part of the hold where there was a suitable average temperature and came back worth more than if they had stayed in Jerez.

In the whites (Finos) biological ageing or submerged biological ageing took place. When the flor is submerged it accelerates the process, so this would happen naturally with the movement of the ship. With the dark wines (Olorosos), the ship’s movement would accelerate the oxidation.

Looking through the vast range of wines which Antonio makes at González Byass, he seeks out butts which he thinks might most resemble the wine Shakespeare would have drunk in London’s taverns. “I think they would have been similar to Pata de Gallina (super fine Oloroso), Palo Cortado, Amontillado or the Vintage wines, but if I had to choose one, it would be the very old Palo Cortado Apóstoles, or I might share with Shakespeare the Finos Palmas.”

It is certain that not only did Shakespeare like to drink Sherry but that he studied it. In order to write Henry IV he would have had to research what it had been like and its availability in England more than a century before he began to drink it. Shakespearian gastronomy went perfectly with wines which were strong in alcohol, powerful and structured. Antonio comments: “The playwright came from the country to a sophisticated London and encountered game dishes, Scottish salmon - perhaps breaded, food which was prepared for journeys, and which was perfect with Sherry.

Image of bas relief at Boar's Head, Eastcheap London (fot:presscom.co.uk)

Shakespeare found lots of ideas for his writings through meeting the literati of the day in the London taverns of the Boar's Head and the Mermaid - among others. Antonio closes his eyes and takes a draught from his glass to think on this impossible meeting. After a pause he says in a low voice “It would be very emotional.” Falstaff, played in the film by Orson Welles, who visited the bodega in 1961 and signed a butt of Fino, rallied prince Hal’s troops alluding to the power of Sherry. In much the same way, Antonio Flores finishes many of his tastings saying “Sherry cures the soul and delights the heart.”

29.4.2015 González Byass Sherry Summit

The Edinburgh trade was honoured last night to welcome Antonio Flores, the firm’s chief oenologist, for the González Byass Sherry Summit. The event took place in the wine shop/bar/restaurant of Le Bon Vivant where they have an intimate basement tasting room.

Antonio led us through a wonderful tasting in his inimitable and charming andaluz manner, more than ably assisted by his thoroughly capable team of UK managing director Martin Skelton, GB’s man in North Britain, Paul Shepherd, and Peter Allison, GB’s international spirits manager.

The tasting was seriously interesting, and part 1 followed the development of the grape must through Fino to old Amontillado.  Part 2 took a look at the Palo Cortados and part 3 traced a path from sobretablas oloroso to the 30 year old Matusalem. Finally we arrived at the sweetened Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez.

Here are some brief notes on the wines:

Mosto 2014 As yet unfortified at 11.9% with 7-8 g/l glycerol and about 1 g/l residual sugar. Fruity with notes of apple and fresh apricot, a slight hint of dissolved CO2. Effectively a young table wine.

Sobretablas Fino 2014 Now fortified to 15.5%, the wine is made and ready for the fourth criadera, with 7g/l glycerol and 1 g/l residual sugar. It is slightly fuller and ever so slightly more Sherry like but still tastes much like the mosto.

Tio Pepe Fino This is what the wine is like after 5 years under flor which has been busy consuming the glycerol (now down to only 2g/l) and residual sugar (down to 0.5 g/l). It is of course the finished Tip Pepe, much drier, less fruity and a lot more delicious. (See separate post).

Tio Pepe en Rama saca 2015 This is the unfiltered, straight from the solera version of Tio Pepe, rich in zippy flor notes with considerable depth of flavour. (See separate post).

Viña AB Amontillado  This is a further development of wine from the Tio Pepe solera which spent 8 years there followed by 4 years of oxidative ageing. Technically (but unfortunately not legally) this is a “Fino-Amontillado” which still shows many Fino characteristics but with attractive oxidative notes and a smoothness from the dead yeast cells in the butts. Lovely. (See separate post).

Amontillado del Duque VORS Viña AB with a further 18 years of ageing in the solera del Duque. This is a serious and totally delicious wine which is simply a (very carefully managed)development of the original mosto and shows the evolution of a Sherry and the effects of flor and oxidation. (See separate post).

Sobretablas Oloroso 2014 18% With an old gold to pale amber colour and a fruity nose with orange and dried fruit notes, traces already of oxidation, and a soft and fruity palate, this is made wine ready for the criadera.

Oloroso Alfonso 18% Here we see how a further 8 years in the solera system develops the wine, and how the absence of flor gives a completely different style. The residual sugar is 3.5 g/l while the glycerol is about 9 g/l. This is a typical oloroso, dry, well rounded and generous. (See separate post).

Palo Cortado Leonor Made from mostos which must be suitable for Fino and fortified to 15.5%, but which can’t sustain flor for more than a few months in the sobretablas stage. Once identified as Palo Cortado it is fortified to 18% ready for the solera. (See separate post).

Apóstoles VORS This wine starts out with 87% Palo Cortado from the Leonor solera at 12 years old then blended with 13% PX. The blend is then aged a further 18 years. It has 50 g/l sugars. What a wine! So refined and characterful – and quite unusual. (See separate post).

Oloroso Solera 1847 Dulce The wine is a blend of 75% Oloroso from the Alfonso solera and 25% PX and is a Cream Sherry with an average age of 8 years and 120 g/l sugars. (See separate post).

Oloroso Dulce Matusalem VORS This stunning wine is made from Solera 1847 and simply aged a further 22 years. Transpiration losses change the sugar reading to 130 g/l, but the attendant concentration balances this with intense flavour. (See separate post).

PX Nectar Produced from GB’s own PX vines, the grapes are late harvested then dried in the sun for a good 2 weeks before being fermented to about 5% then fortified to15% and aged for 8 years. The sugar reading is 380 g/l. (See separate post).

PX Noe VORS This is simply Nectar aged for a further 22 years which give it much greater concentration. It is immensely fruity, and despite the huge amount of sugar, has a delightful balance and lightness of touch. (See separate post).

After the tasting a selection of Sherry cocktails was available, but they weren’t for me (nor a few others). A wine as perfect as Sherry simply cannot be improved upon.

Such an interesting event does wonders for goodwill towards Sherry and has certainly fired up a deeper interest in this great wine. A larger venue could surely have been filled, cask samples permitting, but everyone there enjoyed themselves immensely and learned a lot. 

¡Muchísimas gracias, Antonio!