, Our exploration of sherry continues this week! For those of you who were put off by the out-and-out weirdness of the fino last week, relax a bit...the next category we'll be exploring is Amontillado, which is far easier to love.
How an amontillado is made is a little complicated. If you clicked on the link for the wikipedia fino sherry article last week, bear with me since you'll know a lot of this already. I'll keep it short and simple. Basically, when fino-type sherries are fermenting in barrel, a foul-looking mat of white yeast called "flor" develops on the surface. If the flor remains undisturbed, the sherry will be light, only a little oxidized, and quite dry. This will receive only minimal fortification and will be released as a fino. If, however, the flor is compromised or dies, or the wine is fortified to the point that the yeast dies (over 16% alcohol), the sherry will oxidize much more, turn an amber to deep brown color, and will sweeten slightly on its own. This is a dry amontillado. If moscatel or Pedro Ximenez sherry is added to the barrel, it will be a medium-dry amontillado, which is the type we're trying today.
Osborne Medium Dry Amontillado NV $14.99 SPAIN (Jerez) Amber-gold in the glass. The nose is intense, fragrant, with caramel, toffee and hazelnut aromas. The palate is somewhere between off-dry and off-sweet, with strong almond and hazelnut flavors, a hint of maple syrup, and a faint saltiness that really ties it all together. The finish is very, very long indeed, and showcases a tiny lift of acidity. Great amontillado for the sherry novice. In the next couple of weeks, we'll try several different kinds of amontillados so that you can truly appreciate this style, which is one of my favorite kinds of wine in all the world. And of course, today we'll try many other fine wines.
Be well, and keep drinking the good stuff. Rob "the Bokkonator" Bokkon
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