Most people meet sherry as fino or manzanilla: pale, bone-dry and served cold. We covered those in our guide to fino and manzanilla. This post is about the rest of the family, the amber and brown sherries that taste of nuts, caramel and dried fruit. They are made in the same part of Andalusia, around Jerez de la Frontera, but aged differently.
Two ways to age a sherry
Sherry is fortified wine, mostly made from the Palomino grape. What decides the style is how it ages in the barrel:
- Biological ageing: a layer of yeast called flor grows on the surface of the wine and keeps air away. This gives fino and manzanilla their pale colour and sharp, salty taste.
- Oxidative ageing: with no flor, the wine is in contact with air through the barrel. It darkens and picks up nutty, toasty flavours.
The sherries below sit on the oxidative side, fully or in part. Our Sherry 101 and the jerez page give the wider background.
The styles, one by one
Amontillado starts out like a fino, under flor. Then the flor dies off or the wine is fortified further, and it carries on ageing in contact with air. The result is amber, dry and nutty, with some of the fino's sharpness still underneath. The name means "in the style of Montilla", a wine town near Córdoba.
Oloroso never ages under flor. It is fortified to a strength where flor cannot grow, then left to age with air. It is darker than amontillado, fuller in body, with walnut and leather notes. Oloroso is naturally dry, even though it is brown. The word means fragrant.
Palo cortado is rare and harder to pin down, and the way it is made varies between producers. What tasters usually agree on is the profile: the nose of an amontillado and the body of an oloroso.
Pedro Ximénez, or PX, is a grape rather than an ageing method. The grapes are usually dried in the sun until they are close to raisins, and the wine made from them is very dark and very sweet, with flavours of figs, dates and coffee. Moscatel is made in a similar sweet style.
Cream and medium sherries are blends: a dry sherry, often oloroso for cream, sweetened with a wine such as PX. If you want something dry, read the label carefully.
Age labels: VOS and VORS
Some bottles carry age statements. VOS (Very Old Sherry) means an average age of more than 20 years, and VORS (Very Old Rare Sherry) more than 30. You will also see 12-year and 15-year statements. These wines usually cost more by the glass.
How to order and what to eat with them
- Ask for "una copa de amontillado" or "un oloroso". In Spain sherry often comes in a small tulip-shaped glass.
- Amontillado and oloroso are usually served cool rather than ice-cold. Fino is the one served properly chilled.
- Amontillado is a classic match for soups, mushrooms and cured ham. Oloroso works with stews, game and hard cheese.
- PX is a dessert on its own. In Spain it is often poured over vanilla ice cream.
Where to try it
These restaurants in our directory mention sherry in their own records:
- 22 Ships, Hong Kong: its Bodega table drinks menu includes choices of sherry alongside Spanish wines, vermouth-based cocktails and homemade liquors.
- Andanza, London: set out to capture the tabancos of Jerez, with a drinks list of sherry, vermouths and wines, all Spanish.
- Huevos de Oro, São Paulo: says it gives special attention to Sherry (Jerez), vermouths and cocktails made with them.
- Casita Miró, Waiheke Island: describes its love of sharing fine food, wine and sherry, over tapas and raciones.
