by Julian Schultz
julian@oxfordwineroom.com
I was strolling down New Bond St., in London, and looked in the window of a large wine shop. Just where I wanted to be: I had planned to buy some rare vintage Ports; surely I would find a large selection.
Where else but in England to buy Port wines, imported and popularized by English wine distributors since the early 1800s?
A courteous clerk, wearing a cellar key and a tasting cup, asked if he could assist me. I asked for a good Graham, Taylor, Offley Forrester or Fonseca Vintage Port, like a 1977 or something as good.
Before he answered, typical of me who likes to flaunt his knowledge I began to pontificate about Port's delicious flavors extolled by the English, adding that it is their elites' dessert wines preference since the early 1800s when it was imported from Portugal.
The clerk, smiling, raised his hand to stop me. "What about Sherry?" he asked.
"Sherry!" I exclaimed. "Who drinks Sherry? Chefs cook with it or put it in soup. It's a wine for bullfighters. Isn't it Port with Stilton cheese that is sipped in exclusive gentlemen's clubs? Anyway, I rarely see Sherry featured in advertising or promoted by wine shops."
Alec, the clerk, laughed and benignly slapped my arm. "No, my American friend. It is Sherry in all is varieties that is prominent at exclusive gentlemen's clubs, more so than Port. Dry finos are sipped as appetizers before dinner and sweet Olorosos as dessert wines. And may I remind you, my friend, that Sherry was popular even in Shakespeare's time? Shakespeare's Falstaff discoursed on Sherry's properties and is a classic in literature. Too bad Sherry isn't popular in your country. You are missing much wine pleasure."
But return in an hour when my assistant is here and I will taste Sherries with you and explain them."
The assistant was a gray-haired mature woman; she had already laid out a variety of mildly spicy food and nine three-ounce glasses. Alec apologized, said that Mrs. Duncan would conduct our little tasting, that he needed to visit a customer and take an order for a quantity of dinner wines.
She said styles of Sherry suit every variety of tastes, which range from the very dry and pale (Manzanilla) to the very dark and sweet (Cream). She added that catering to sweet-tooth American tastes, the shippers ship primarily the sweet Sherries here and drink the dry Sherries at home.
Mrs. Duncan was a gushing fountain of facts. I hurriedly scribbled notes, which I converted to my style of writing:
Shakespeare's Falstaff said a good glass of Sherry ("sherries sack" in his time) makes us witty and brave and the first lesson we should teach our sons is to swear off wimpy liquids and drink Sherry. Paraphrasing and excerpting Falstaff's discussion: A good Sherry has a two-fold operation in it. It ascends into the brain and dries all foolish, dull and cruddy vapors which environ it, makes it alert, quick, decisive, full of fire, which delivered over to the tongue becomes excellent wit.
The second attribute of Sherry is warming of the blood; which, before, cold and settled, left the liver white and pale, which is the badge of cowardice; but sipping Sherry puffs up the heart and enables it to perform any deed of courage.
For these reasons I would teach my sons to avoid wimpy wines and addict themselves to Sherry.
When I returned from London and told Dr. Bob Ouellette of my experience, he decided that he and his Les Compagnons des Bons Vins' members would try to prove the Bard of Avon right; we tasted nine dazzling Emilio Lustau Sherries, ranging from very dry, olives-tangy, sea-salty Manzanilla to lush, rich, sweet Cream.
The wit that I heard wasn't what Shakespeare had in mind. It was comical, however, to overhear members less familiar with Sherry initially grumbling their frustration as they tried to identify its unique fragrances and flavors: Sea salty, oxidized, rancio (rancid), pungent, dry nutty dusty smells and tastes are common in lighter Fino Sherries. In conventional wines, they spell spoiled.
To enjoy good quality Sherries takes tasting practice and familiarity and...freshness! If the bottles languish too long on wine shop shelves or in restaurants, light Fino Sherries lose their freshness in about three months. But Lustau's Sherries delighted us immediately. In addition to Sherries' expected aromas and tastes, Lustau captures a magical combination of flavors reminiscent of walnut, caramel, almond, wood, vanilla, and cooked raisins in sweeter Olorosos. Sweeter Olorosos have a longer life for freshness.
Seventeen members showed true grit as they attacked the spicy, pungent foods that matched the lighter, drier Fino Sherries: Fino, Manzanilla, Montilla (the latter not a Sherry in the true sense, but Sherry-like, though lighter and not as nutty); the second two styles of Sherry are better food friendly.
The group chewed away recklessly on salty, vinegary, pungent, spicy, garlicky foods: hard, chewy, pungent, spicy smoked sausages in oily chick peas; oily vinegary green and black olives; cooked mushrooms groaning with garlic; Gruyere, Edam, English Caerphilly Cheddar and Boursin cheeses; salted peanuts, toasted shelled almonds; salted pretzels, and seasoned crackers and crusty bread.
There was one exception among the intrepid members who courageously ate away: I was the coward. The prospect of heartburn, bellyaches and worse had me quivering with fear. I enjoyed my Sherries with a variety of cheese and bread.
Sherry is the most capricious of all wines: The wine itself determines whether it will be a pale, dry, lean olive-tangy, sea-weedy Fino or one of a different style Oloroso, the latter extending from less dry, nutty, moderately sweet Amontillado to nutty, caramel-like, rich, sweet, mahogany-colored Cream Sherry.
Flor, a scum-like and yeasty cover on newly fermented Sherry is a mystery. Its presence and growth are unpredictable - in two barrels of wine from the same batch, one may develop flor and the other not. The wine with flor will become a Fino, Manzanilla, or possibly an aged, dry Amontillado; the other wine will become a sweeter Amontillado or a lush, rich Oloroso.
Solera. Sherry is bottled from older Sherry lying at the bottom row of barrels six to eight or more tiers high. Only one-third of the wine is drawn off. The bottom-barrel Sherry is replaced by wine from the next tier from above, which in turn, is replenished from the tier above that; the higher tiers always refill the barrels immediately below. Wine of the current harvest is pumped into the top tiers and journeys down taking about six to seven years, blending with the more mature wine on its progress through the solera before the first of it reaches bottom.
Grape brandy is added after fermentation to raise Sherry's alcohol content. Finos are fortified to about 15 to 16 percent; Olorosos, the sweet Sherries, are hiked to 18 to 20.
We tasted nine Emilio Lustau Sherries that were rated 90 and higher by nationally respected, experienced, exacting judges familiar with Sherry. I rated two Sherries 95 and ordered some immediately; others joined me:
One was Dry Amontillado, 16 percent alcohol. Perfection. It grabbed the nose with rich caramel, nutty, rancio aromas; vanilla, caramel, seaweed, toasted almonds, and subtle yeasty, rancio flavors arrested the palate and lingered long after the swallow. It is a Sherry unlike other Amontillados I have tasted. Buy some and savor with spicy appetizers and seasoned seafood.
The second wine I bought was an exciting surprise at the Compagnons tasting: Old East India Cream Sherry, 20 percent alcohol. I had forsworn Cream Sherries years ago because they were sickeningly cloying. Not Old East India, however. We were unanimous declaring it sensational. Its nose was nutty, smoky, and reminiscent of melted caramels. My first sip, and I thought of flan in caramel sauce with brandy. I heard murmurs of crème brulee and caramel custard. There were additional flavors of sweet cream, vanilla, cooked raisins, and toasted almonds, and offsetting possible cloying sweetness were tart tastes of apricots, bitter coffee and chocolate. It is a "must have" dessert wine, whether you are a wine enthusiast or not.
All nine Sherries were different, ranging from austere dry to lush sweet. Try a bottle of each of the following, if only to enjoy wine tasting pleasure while obtaining a classical education in classy Sherries.
* Light Fino, 15 percent alcohol. Salty nuts, green olives, caramel, yeast.
* Rare Amontillado, 18 percent alcohol. Pungent, walnuts, black olives, caramels.
* Dry Oloroso, 20 percent alcohol. Dry, seaweeds, caramels, complementing rancio.
* Manzanilla Almacinista, 17 percent alcohol. A rarity, not solera blended. Nutty woody, yeasty, hints of varnish; very complex, very elegant.
* Palo Cortado, 18 percent alcohol. Nutty, rancio, rich creamy, hint of sweetness.
* Principe Pio, 20 percent alcohol. Complex, nutty, vanilla, caramels, black olives.
* Emperatriz Eugenia, 20 percent alcohol. Toasted almonds, black olives, subtle salty, caramel.
The price of best Sherries is considerably lower than that of Vintage Ports.
Wine Pick: Terra d'Oro School House Road Zinfandel 2000, $21.99. Delicious zin, a blend of 80 percent Zinfandel, 13 Petite Sirah, 7 Barbera. Magnificently integrates the attributes of the blended wines with aromas and flavors evocative of berries, spice, raisins, black pepper, tobacco, beef. Excellent representation of top drawer Zinfandel.
Wine Pick: Reynolds New South Wales Cabernet Sauvignon 2002, $8.99. Yet another winner from the Down Under with aromas and flavors of cherries, currants, overlaid with licorice and tobacco nuances. Fine-grade tannins provide firm structure and smooth lengthy finish to this richly flavored, varietally expressive cab.
Wine Pick; Genesis Chardonnay 2002, $16. Assertive fruit, oak aging and malolactic fermentation result in a smooth, complex, easy-to-sip chard. Some tasters extolled its flavor of tropical fruit, crème brulee and pineapple; others found vanilla, nutmeg and juniper. I had it with barbecued chicken; the counterpoint flavors were exciting.
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