Sherry, Manzanilla and Montilla by Peter Liem and Jesus Barquin
Just finished it over the weekend and for anyone interested in Sherry, etc. or who wants to become interested in it this is a wonderful book. Informative and erudite yet eminently readable. For the historical development of sherry, the various techniques for making it, the different types (I finally have some understanding of what Palo Cortado is as well as why I’ve had such a hard time with that in the past - not that this had affected my enjoyment in any way), and reviews of the sherries currently on the market including their styles this book is irreplaceable.
The mediocre typesetting was a distraction at first but after a while I stopped noticing.
Well worth the time and money.
My only negative is that after reading I’ve been looking things up on wine-searcher more than is really good for my wallet…
Disclaimer - I’ve met and drunk wine with Jesus on several occasions - he’s a great guy. Never met Peter.
I enjoy Madeira & Tawny/Ruby Port often as a nightcap, but my sherry familiarity is limited. I just let my wife know that I’d like this book as a Christmas gift, but can you recommend some sherries that I can open and sip on for a few weeks a/la the fortifieds mentioned above?
I’ve had a lot of Fino, but I get the sense that should be consumed like a table wine, in one sitting or a day or two tops, do enlighten me if I’m off base there.
Yes, I wouldn’t keep Fino or Manzanilla open for more than a day or two. But the wines that see oxidative aging as opposed to exclusively biological (under flor) will keep longer (though this will, of course, vary from wine to wine - the stunning 1979 Byass Palo Cortado died by the second day). So Amontillado, Palo Cortado, Oloroso, and PX will be better choices though none will keep forever. A bottle of the Equipo Navazos PX #12 was still wowing people after being open 2 weeks (that’s when it was finished off).
For an inexpensive, widely available introduction to the different styles of Sherry and Montilla (Alvear is a Montilla) I like the Alvear wines very much. If you’d like something a bit more wow (for my palate) but that won’t break the bank the Hidalgo VOS Palo Cortado is one I like very much.
But as in other regions styles will vary from producer to producer and within producers for their various bottlings. That’s one of the things I find so valuable about this book. I had a few producers/bottlings I would buy but was leery of buying others without having tried them to know what the styles were like. This helps with that (though of course without some familiarity with the wines the descriptors would not be as meaningful).
Thanks Jay. I’ll head over to Spanish Table & see if they have the bottles you mention. I have to wait a month for the book, so it will be fun to taste them ahead of that to contextualize it a bit.
Actually, Spanish Table has such a great selection of sherry that whoever does their buying would be a far better person than me to ask for advice regarding their stock.
Personally I recently ordered a selection of Barbadillo VORS sherries from them but haven’t had a chance to try any yet.