Don Fino 15%, Sandeman

Appearance

Bright clean pale gold, legs.

Nose

Fresh and forthcoming then some complexities come through; a faint trace of oxidation, flor bitterness, perhaps a touch of almond, slight salinity, traces of dried flowers, lees and a trace of autolysis, a hint of Palomino fruit adds to the mix for a quality nose.

Palate

Similar, fairly soft and good and dry with a very dry feel from the albariza, smooth, fairly low acidity and appetising with that trademark Fino bitterness and long clean finish.

Comments

This is Sandeman's middle range Fino, between the Fino Seco and the Rare Fino. It is around 5-6 years old and comes from a solera laid down in 1887. The name "Don" refers to the famous Sandeman logo of the Don in a Capa Negra (black cape) which you can make out on the label. Over the years Sandeman Finos have had a variety of names such as Dry Don and Apitiv.

Price

£12.00 from Vino, Edinburgh

29.11.12 Decanter Magazine Praises Sherry

Decanter Magazine, in its current (December) edition has given high praise to some Sherries. The article was written by Sarah Jane Evans MW, who knows a lot about Sherry, having written her MW dissertation on the Almacenistas. I can confirm that; I last met her at Vinoble giving a talk on Moscatel. She praises the following:

La Bota de Manzanilla No 32, Equipo Navazos

Manzanilla Pasada Cuevas Jurado, Lustau Almacenista

Manzanilla Pasada Pastrana, Hidalgo la Gitana

Puerto Fino, Emilio Lustau

Fino la Ina, Emilio Lustau

Fino Antique, Fernando de Castilla

Fino Perdido, Sanchez Romate

Amontillado La Bota No 31, Equipo Navazos

Amontillado Antique, Fernando de Castilla

Amontillado Vina AB, Gonzalez Byass

Oloroso La Bota No 28 Bota Punta, Equipo Navazos

Palo Cortado Viejisimo 1/5, Cayetano del Pino

Palo Cortado Vides, Lustau Almacenista

Palo Cortado Wellington VORS, Hidalgo la Gitana

Moscatel Emilin, Emilio Lustau

PX Antique, Fernando de Castilla

PX Noe VORS, Gonzalez Byass

I have tasted most of these, and will post my notes on those not already posted as soon as I can. They are all quite excellent, and you should stock up with them for Christmas!

29.11.12 CRDO Takes Reins of Rutas del Vino

The association of the Rutas del Vino y del Brandy de Jerez yesterday began a new era with a new board of directors which includes the Consejos Reguladores of both the Sherry and the Brandy, who take on full responsibility for improving facilities and giving more drive to enotourism. An extraordinary meeting adopted the motion unanimously, and Cesar Saldana, director of the CRDO Sherry will preside while the Council’s tourism chief, Antonio Real will be vice-president.

The new set up will re-structure internally and renew its on-line communication strategy,  emphasising the role of the vineyards as a first rate tourist attraction, as a priority. The CRDO website has been revised to achieve more consumer involvement, and the plan is to improve the Rutas del Vino site as well. Better cohesion among the over 100 associated establishments is also an objective. Vineyards as attractions and countryside catering are also to be improved. It should be remembered that the Sherry area is the most popular for enotourism, cycle tourism and horse tourism in Spain.

Fino Seco Suite 15%, Valdivia

Appearance
Paleish bright strawy gold, legs.
Nose
Quite forthcoming, touch bitterness and green almond from the flor, traces of olive brine, Palomino fruit and dried flowers and just the slightest hint of autolysis, dry.
Palate
Full, lots of flavour, quite rounded and on the low side acid-wise, but still balanced by that bitterness which makes Fino such a good aperitif. This wine is fairly serious with its almondy, strawy tang and pronounced flor characteristics. Good length too.
Comments
Very good, lots of character. Valdivia have two ranges: Suite (the affordable wines) and Sacromonte (the older wines). The bodega is part of the Hotel Villa del Duque in Jerez and belongs to Garvey which is now owned by Back in Business after two separate ownerships by Rumasa/Nueva Rumasa. Despite all the goings on, this is a really good Fino.

Price

£8.99 ( 50cl ) from Baxter's in Edinburgh

A Certain Optimism in Jerez

Sherry has a good opportunity to recover its lost prestige. The resurgence of interest in the wine and the elimination of excess production have brought an air of optimism to the trade. The bodegas, the growers, the institutions and wine experts all agree on this. Now is the chance to get out of the rut of being forgotten, to leave behind years of decadence and pessimism, of vine – pulling, abandoning vineyards, internal disputes and ruinous pricing and get back to the top where Sherry should always have been.

Sherry could be at a crossroads. Interest in the wine is increasing, albeit in export markets, particularly the English speaking ones, and especially the USA. Grape and must prices are rising, growers are seeing longer supply contracts, and the cooperatives are able to sell their produce. The relations between producers and exporters are more cordial than they have been for a long time, things are running smoothly and there is some profit to be made.

There remains a lot to be done however. Jose Ramon Estevez says a change of mentality is needed to ensure that the growers can make a reasonable living and be incentivised to go for quality. He is among the more optimistic and practices what he preaches. Asevi and Aecovi have applauded his (among others’) attitude in helping the growers in hard times. They also cite Barbadillo – one of the biggest buyers because of their best-selling table wine Castillo de San Diego– Lustau and Beam.  The coops at Trebujena have a good friend in Williams & Humbert, especially after the latter broke the long-established link with Coop Virgen de la Caridad in Sanlucar when it was acquired by Nueva Rumasa. Jesus Medina,CEO of Grupo Medina , owners of W&H is also optimistic. He says the important thing is that everyone makes some money, although ex bodega prices will have to rise.

Officials at the Consejo Regulador and at Fedejerez (the bodega association) also see cause for optimism, but warn to avoid the pendulum effect. The Consejo president, Beltran Domecq has been much involved with promoting Sherry, with the Copa de Jerez and tastings in various countries, but he is fed up with the lack of financial resources to really promote Sherry. Others, perhaps with a slightly more pragmatic view believe that volumes should be kept low and that Sherry should be promoted as a “fine” wine. To the connoisseurs it is, but far too many consumers drink bulk plonk from own-label brands blended down to a price. The trade needs to get away from bulk.

Jesus Barquin, co-founder of Equipo Navazos believes the mistake was the “factory mentality” wine and getting too disconnected from the vineyards. Sherry should be a vineyard-driven wine, not some sort of homogenous commodity like Coca Cola. Jose Penin, founder of the Guia Penin, is also critical about affairs have been run in Jerez. Carmen Romero, manager of Aecovi  also says that Sherry must be vineyard driven, and applauds those who have seen the light. Aecovi took the bold step of marketing their own Sherries to ensure profitability for the Coop members. It should be borne in mind that the cheapest grapes in Spain are those of Jerez, and there is room for improvement, however if Sherry keeps to the current path there may be even more room for optimism.

26.11.12 FEE to Hold Congress in Jerez

Jerez is to be the meeting place in May 2014 of the Spanish Federation of Enologists. The biennial meeting will bring together over 300 wine makers. The president of the board of the Federation is from Jerez and he has made arrangements with the Mayoress. This is a great tourism opportunity for Jerez:  the wine must be good if 300 professionals want to meet there. The enologists are hoping that their meeting will coincide with Vinoble (a biennial sweet and fortified wine fair held in Jerez). The city will organise other events as well.

Amontillado Napoleon 17.5%, Hidalgo La Gitana

Appearance
Deep old burnished gold verging on amber, trace green at rim, legs.
Nose
Elegant and aromatic, toasted almonds and hazelnuts, traces oak and cedar, quite punzante - traces of manzanilla pasada origins. Light hints of old furniture polished with linseed oil and a hint of oxidation, complex and somehow more aromatic than its paler colour would suggest.
Palate
Quite light in weight but compensated by lots of flavour surging through, a gentle trace of acidity, good grip and lots of deep nutty tang, a trace of salinity and bitterness from the flor, clean, quite crisp and very long.
Comments
Delicious. I love it when you can see how a wine has developed. A classic Sanlucar wine. It gets its name from the fact that Hidalgo supplied Napoleon's army with wine during the peninsula War. Be careful, though, because Hidalgo have two wines named Napoleon: this one and a VORS which is much dearer.Without wishing to appear partisan, they also supplied the British army, hence their other wine Palo Cortado Wellington. This solera is from the end of the XVIII century and is filled with Pastrana. Some of this wine, which is close to 20 years old then goes to the VORS solera.

Price

£ 10, 95 (50cl) from Drinkmonger