Fino is a light, pale, dry wine made only from
the free-run or first-pressing must of Palomino grapes and with an alcoholic
content of 15%/vol or occasionally slightly more depending on age. It is sold at between 2 years
(the minimum required by law) and over 10 years of age. The wine has distinct,
slightly bitter almond and dough aromas from the acetaldehyde it contains. It
is under flor for its entire ageing period in solera, a process known as
“biological ageing” in which the flow of wine through the solera system is more
frequent in order to maintain the health of the flor which protects the wine
from oxidation. Both Palo Cortado and Amontillado originate as Fino.
Until the mid XIX century the concept of
biological ageing was not properly understood, and wines which developed the
growth of flor were regarded as sick and were either racked and allowed to
oxidise or made into vinegar. Sherry at that time was mainly Oloroso sometimes with
PX blended in, a wine which would withstand the sea journey to northern
European markets, helped perhaps by some fortification which had been practised
on a commercial scale since the early XVIII century.
It would be the 1820s before Fino began to be taken
more seriously and the comparatively new solera system would make it a great
wine. Nevertheless it took a long time to get there. González Byass and Garvey were
among the first to see its potential, and Tio Pepe was first exported in 1844
while Garvey’s San Patrico launched in the 1850s, both successfully, and both
probably fortified to 17-18%. By now Pasteur was explaining that the flor was
not a disastrous mould but yeast, and a little fortification could kill off any bacterial spoilage.
It is doubtful if the Tio Pepe and San Patricio
of those days would bear much resemblance to those of today, we simply don’t
know, but scholars think they were probably more like Fino-Amontillados as the
application of the solera system to this type of wine is thought to only have
become generalised in the early 1870s. Certainly Vizetelly, visiting in that
decade, gave the age of Tio Pepe as 7 years (now 5), which would mean it could
only have had the Fino characteristics he describes at that age if it had been
through a solera. He quotes the strength as 25ᴼ proof or around 15%/vol. in bodega.
From about the early to middle part of the XIX
century tastes in Britain, which was by far the biggest export market, were
beginning to change toward a lighter, drier style of wine. The heavier style
was losing popularity, especially after the climate began to warm in the 1850s,
and although there was still some demand for it the market was becoming,
perhaps, more sophisticated and “Pale Dry” was taken up enthusiastically,
though it was not necessarily Fino per se. British importers, who in those days
shipped the wine in butts and bottled it, had never come across flor and were
unsure what to do with it. This was not a great problem however, but an
unfortunate development was that in the British market people began to see
Sherry as dry if it was pale and sweet if it was dark, which was by no means
necessarily the case, but it has caused confusion ever since.
During the sobretablas stage when the new wines
are beginning to reveal their style they are classified and the butts marked
accordingly. Wines with flor and showing the sort of delicacy required for Fino
will be marked with a raya or palo (/). Particularly fine wines with really
healthy flor will be marked with a “palma” (ϒ), and according to age will be
given more palmas up to four by crossing the original chalk mark: Una Palma,
Dos Palmas, Tres Palmas, Cuatro Palmas. By the time the wine reaches tres
palmas the flor will have all but gone and oxidation will be under way, so the wine
will be a Fino-Amontillado, possibly of some age, while the Cuatro Palmas will
be an Amontillado, but one of exceptional quality.
Fortification of Finos is standard practice,
from the 11.5-12% of the fermented must up to 15%, the minimum required by law.
The reason for this particular strength is that it is the minimum needed to
protect the wine without killing the
flor. This amazing yeast has quite an appetite, and consumes the oxygen in the
wine, glycerine, any unfermented sugars (making it very dry) and even alcohol.
It is possible on occasion to find butts in a solera with a strength as low as
14% especially in soleras with healthy flor thanks to regular refreshment, and
the wine may need to be lightly fortified again. This seems a pity in a perfectly healthy wine, but the law says it must be 15%.
Before bottling most Finos undergo filtration
to eliminate any particles of flor which are unsightly, and in the past they
were fined with egg white and Lebrija clay. Nowadays more powerful filtration
equipment is used which, it is agreed by many, takes out too much colour and
character from the wine which has spent years in solera developing it.
Manzanillas treated this way are known as “Manzanillas Finas” and in many cases
have replaced older, tastier wines with less taken out, but apparently this is
the fashion. It is a shame the wine trade has to adjust wine to suit a public
which often doesn’t understand it. Luckily many bodegas now sell “En Rama” wines
which are Finos (and Manzanillas) with minimal filtration and thus retain most
of the character they had in solera. While they are a drop in the ocean in
terms of volume, they are gaining ground and respectability.
Fino, then, is one of the wine world’s most
interesting wines, and which contrary to some opinion, will often age well in
bottle. One is told to drink it as fresh as possible, and that is lovely, but
with a few more years in bottle it can develop into something special. Sealed
in a bottle, with the absence of oxygen and none of the flor the wine is
accustomed to in barrel, it develops slightly differently taking on a deeper,
slightly oily, nutty character. The gainsayers protest that it is oxidised, but
a well-stored bottle will not be, even though there is something of that
flavour. Naturally the Finos which age best are the en rama ones which have
more complexity, though filtered Finos can be rewarding too. Perhaps
bottle-aged Fino is not for everyone, but like all Sherry, it is highly complex
and needs experience to get the most out of it – to understand it. But once you
do, there is no going back.
