Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes grown in the triangle formed by the towns of Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Berrameda and El Puerto de Santa María in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is produced in a variety of styles, mainly made from the Palomino grape. They range from light versions that resemble white table wines, such as Manzanilla and Fino, to darker and heavier versions that oxidise during ageing in the barrel, such as Amontillado and Oloroso. Sweet dessert wines are also made from Pedro Ximénez or Moscatel grapes and are sometimes blended with Palomino-based sherries.
After fermentation, the fermented juice from the Palomino grapes is poured into oak barrels. However, the barrels are only filled about ⅔ full, the last ⅓ remains empty, which results in a large surface area of fermented must.
As the wine comes into contact with the air, a carpet of flor yeast can spontaneously form on its surface, eventually covering the entire liquid. After approx. 4 weeks, this "carpet" becomes up to 3 mm thick. The thickness of the flor layer has a significant influence on the quality and flavour of the wine. It gives the wine its wonderful, full-bodied flavour. The flor layer cannot be produced, it develops spontaneously and naturally from the bacteria in the air and allows the wine to mature in the absence of air. It also absorbs the last sugar residue and reduces the concentration of glycerine and volatile acidity and produces esters and aldehydes, the actual flavour-giving substances of the wine.
Fig.1: Sherry cask with flor layer
The length of time the wine takes to mature depends on several factors:
the position of the barrel in relation to the wind
the proximity to the sea
the level of humidity
the thickness of the outer walls
These factors give the wine its own characteristics.
After about 6 months under the yeast layer, the “Capataz” takes a sample with the “Venencia” and marks the barrels according to the result:
/ = light and good
// = full-bodied
/// = coarse, bitter
The light and elegant ones, marked with a palo "/", become manzanillas or finos. Over time, however, they can also develop into amontillados or even palo cortados.
Those marked with "//" become olorosos. Some exceptional barrels remain añados. These may be bottled as vintage sherries. This is a rare but exciting distinction.
"///" are blended with other casks.
The Manzanillas and Finos are blended with up to 15.5% alcohol, the Olorosos with up to 17 - 18%.
The manzanillas and finos undergo biological ageing. They mature under the flor layer until they are bottled.
Some finos continue to mature even after the flor layer has died. They are then fortified with alcohol at 17-18% by volume and become amontillados.
The solera system
Before we continue with the classification of sherries, I would like to talk a little more about the solera process, which is a key feature of sherry production.
The solera system is characterised by a series of sherry barrels stacked on top of each other, consisting of 3, 4, 5 or more rows of barrels (see Fig. 2). If sherry is to be bottled for sale, a certain quantity is always taken from the lowest solera row. This quantity is topped up from the row above (1ª criadera) and this quantity again from the row above (2ª criadera) and so on until new sherry is added to the top row. In this way, you always get sherry of the same quality. It is not possible to determine the exact age of the wine using this method, but it can be calculated by dividing the total quantity of the solera system by the quantity that is extracted each year.
Now that the theory of sherry production has been clarified, let's move on to the individual styles. The above is necessary to understand the individual styles, of which there are 6 in total: Manzanilla, Fino, Amontillado, Palo Cortado, Oloroso, Pedro Ximenes (or simply PX).
Fig. 2: Solera system with 4 "criaderas" (1 solera and 1ª - 3ª criadera)
Fig. 3: Schematic scheme of the sherry system
Manzanilla
Manzanilla is a fino from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a town near Cadiz, located directly by the sea. The flor of the barrels in the bodegas near the sea is thicker than those in other regions and, to enhance this effect, the barrels are only filled halfway or 60% full, which increases the flor layer and allows the wine to mature more quickly.
The thicker layer has a decisive influence on the character of the wine: it becomes fresher, lighter and more elegant than the other Finos and is perfect for drinking in the warm season or with meals, not least because it has more acidity than the other Finos. Manzanillas are more acidic because the grapes are harvested earlier than the finos.
It usually has an alcohol content of 14.5% and can sometimes be slightly higher, but must not exceed 15.5%. If the manzanilla spends longer under the flor than it normally does and the yeast dies, a manzanilla amontillada is created under the influence of oxygen. This then develops over time into a Manzanilla Oloroso until it finally becomes a Manzanilla Pasada.
Manzanilla derivates
If the manzanilla spends longer under the flor than it normally does and the yeast dies, a manzanilla amontillada is created under the influence of oxygen. This then develops over time into a Manzanilla Oloroso until it finally becomes a Manzanilla Pasada.
Fino
Fino makes up the majority of sherries. It is an ideal aperitif for those who do not want to drink a lot of liquid before a meal. A fino also always cuts a fine figure as an accompaniment to a snack or light meal. High-quality finos are perfect for such occasions.
Finos, like all sherries, mature for at least 2 years and some can be truly breathtaking when aged for 10 years. On the palate, a fino is sharp and delicate at the same time and has a flavour of almonds, yeast, brioche and herbs.
Its colour is straw yellow to light gold. The finish is light, dry and leaves a pleasant aftertaste of almonds.
Sherry has the ability to stimulate the taste buds. It is therefore an ideal aperitif to prepare the palate for the enjoyment of food. In addition, the spicy character of this sherry intensifies all the flavours in a dish and thus enhances it.
Fino had the peculiarity of not lasting very long. It was not uncommon to order a fino in a bar that had already lost a large part of its flavour because it had been open for too long. This is of course very disappointing. One solution was to bottle the finos in half bottles. They are drunk more quickly and the risk of getting a flat-tasting fino was reduced.
Today, fino has been stabilised to such an extent that it stays fresh for longer and can be drunk all year round. The half-bottles have survived to this day, at least in the south of Spain.
Amontillado
The Amontillado is characterised by richer colours and a nuttier aroma than the Finos. The Amontillado is initially produced like a Fino. It matures organically under the flor layer until this dies off after approx. 7-8 years; due to age or because the wine has reached an alcohol content of approx. 17.5 %. This can happen naturally, as water evaporates and the alcohol content becomes more concentrated, or by adding a little extra alcohol. The yeast cannot cope with more than 17.5 % alcohol and dies. The still fino is then defenceless against the oxygen in the air and continues to mature oxidatively. The contact with oxygen makes it darker and the flavour becomes nuttier.
Palo Cortado
Palo Cortado is the result of a whim of nature. The flor yeast is a biological system, as we have seen in the example of Manzanilla, which can develop differently under varying conditions. It can happen that one barrel of a bottling develops as planned and in another barrel of the same bottling, which may have been exposed to different conditions such as temperature or wind in a different corner of the bodega, the flor layer suddenly and seemingly inexplicably dies off. The wine from this cask then continues to mature oxidatively like an Oloroso.
The result is a sherry that has the freshness and sharpness of an amontillado and the full-bodied flavour of an oloroso.
This phenomenon was very rare in the past, making a Palo Cortado a real rarity. Nowadays, the wines are matured under better controlled conditions so that spontaneous development no longer occurs. Today's Palo Cortado is a wine that is modelled on the style.
The name "Palo" means line, as we have seen above, and characterises a Fino. However, if the wine does not develop into a fino, the line is crossed out, "cortado".
Oloroso
As described above, Capataz occasionally samples the wines with the Veneciana after bottling. The wines from some barrels are rather light and elegant, the ballerinas of the sherries. The wines from other barrels are more robust in nature, strong and perhaps a little rough, which I would describe as the rugby players among the sherries.
These barrels get 2 dashes (//). These wines are not allowed to develop into elegant finos. After fermentation, they are fortified with alcohol to a level of 17.5 - 22.0 %, so that the flor layer dies off and these wines continue to develop oxidatively. They ultimately become amber to dark brown, aromatic sherries, as the name "oloroso - fragrant, fragrant" suggests.
Some olorosos are completely dry, while others are blended with sweet Pedro Ximenez (PX) or Moscatel to produce dessert wines from the olorosos.
Oloroso is more suited to the half of the year when the days are shorter than the nights. It goes well with spicy cheeses, tapas, as an aperitif or you can drink it on its own in front of the fire.
Fig. 4: Representation of the Scherry colours from left to right: Oloroso - Amontillado - Fino