Sherry Amor – Tasting Aged Sherry

On a mission to make the nation fall back in love with Sherry, Richard Oakley has created a new company called ‘Sherry Amor‘, offering collections of Sherry, exploring different styles, producers and ageing potential.

It’s Great To Speak With You, Richard, What Inspired You To Create And Launch Your New Company ‘Sherry Amor’?

“I’ve always enjoyed drinking lots of styles of wine, but for me, sherry is the wine with the most character. They’re very sophisticated wines, full of interesting and diverse flavours, reflecting their terroir and the centuries-old traditions of their creation. The UK also has this incredible history of enjoying sherry, although our consumption seemed to peak around 1870! I set up Sherry Amor to try to make the country fall in love with these fabulous wines again.” – Richard Oakley – Founder of Sherry Amor

Produced in Southern Spain, in the ‘Sherry Triangle’ as it is known. The Jerez region is in the province of Cádiz is formed by three towns: Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa María.

Sherry will only be produced as a white wine, fortified after fermentation by adding grape brandy. Aged much like the Traditional Method of Sparkling Wines in large wooden barrels, the system is known as a solera, and it has sherries of all different ages fermenting together, they are aged and often sold as blends rather than a single vintage year.

When you see, for example, ‘aged 20 years’ on a Sherry label, it simply means that it is the average age of the wine inside the bottle, at least part of the juice inside is 20 years old.

For Someone Who Has Never Tasted Sherry Before, How Would You Recommend They Begin?

“I think a lot of people would admit they’re pretty inexperienced sherry tasters. That’s partly why Sherry Amor offers mixed cases, so you can try a range of styles and find out what you like best. Always serve sherry lightly chilled, and see how it develops as it warms up gradually in the glass. As with any wine, try to taste as many as you can and find your preferred styles. If you’re in a good restaurant, there are probably a few sherries tucked away on their wine list, so that’s an opportunity! If you’re in London I’d recommend a trip to Moro in Exmouth Market, as well as their delicious food they offer a good sherry range and a terrific value sherry flight.” – Richard Oakley – Founder of Sherry Amor

When exploring the world of Sherry, you’ll discover that there are different styles that you can try. When a Sherry is aged it is done so in one of two ways, the first is under a thick surface of yeast, known as ‘flor’, and the second is without. When a Sherry is aged with the ‘flor’ on top, it prevents oxygen from accessing the wine as it ages, this will result in a fresher style of Sherry, compared to when oxygen is allowed to make contact with the Sherry, the oxygen helps to develop a more in depth and complex Sherry.

Sherry can be aged in different ways that affect the ultimate taste experience, including ‘Manzanilla’ which has a flavour profile of delicate saline and to achieve this it must be aged in the town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where the coastal location affects the wine’s development, or Amontillado which is aged twice, first with ‘flor’ and the second without to develop a wonderful array of new flavours. Amor Sherry has a great easy to read informational page called Sherry 101 on their website which explains the process of some of their favourite styles of sherry

Sherry should be enjoyed in the same style as a fine glass of Champagne, chilled at first and as you enjoy it, allowed to reach room temperature, offering it the chance to open up and share all its wonderful aromas and flavours with time.

The chilling temperature differs depending on the style of Sherry, but to keep it simple, fridge temperature would do just fine.

You Can Have Some Fun Pairing Sherry With Different Foods And Cheeses, Are There Any Pairings That You’d Personally Suggest?

“You can have fun! Dry sherries are incredibly savoury and therefore versatile food wines. Fino and Manzanilla have the same alcoholic strength as some unfortified white wines, so pairing them with seafood dishes is a good starting point. I like to enjoy Amontillado with cured meats, especially Iberico jamon, as there’s a nuttiness to both. I always drink Oloroso with a roast chicken, sometimes adding a splash to the roasting pan. Palo Cortado can stand up to some highly-spiced Asian dishes, especially classic home-cooked Indian dishes such as keema peas. On the dessert front, Pedro Ximenez with vanilla ice cream and raisins is a classic. Aged sherry wines also make for a great aperitif or digestif. But don’t feel obliged to follow any rules!” – Richard Oakley – Founder of Sherry Amor

Ageing Sherry – If you’re looking to keep your Sherry stored away, it’s recommended to do so in the same conditions as any sparkling wine, in a cool, constant and dark location, you can leave the bottle for an average of 1-5 years, but Sherry is very unlikely to improve once in the bottle, over time it has the potential of losing some of it’s quality. Sherry does its ageing and improving in quality while within the barrel, before being taken out to bottle.

Tip – The best place to store an opened bottle of Sherry is in the fridge.

Can You Share With Us One Of Your Most Memorable Moments With A Glass of Sherry?

“I was lucky to eat at El Celler de Can Roca in Girona about twelve years ago. Head Sommelier Josep Roca keeps a sensational wine list and is a passionate sherry advocate. He’s been known to call sherry ‘salted tears’. I drank an ancient Palo Cortado there, with probably a five-minute finish and ended the meal with a glass of Pedro Ximenez from my birth year, which was pretty special, although I’m not disclosing the year.” – Richard Oakley – Founder of Sherry Amor

Now it’s time to explore some of the Sherry’s from Valdespino which are available on ‘Sherry Amor’ within their ‘Valdespino mixed case‘, being sold for £215, and including 6 bottles of Sherry, this gives us the opportunity to discover different styles, flavours, the taste of a single-vineyard and 20 years of ageing.

Valdespino has one of the oldest histories in the region. The company owns many of its own vineyards, enabling it to make distinctive single-vineyard sherries, many of which are extensively aged.

This case contains five of their renowned dry sherries and one deliciously sweet Pedro Ximénez. Three half bottles (37.5 cl) and three ‘jennies’ (50 cl) are included in the case, the latter are all very old sherries (VOS):

• Fino `Inocente` Pago de Macharnudo – Savoury notes including almonds, olives, dried green apples and saline notes on the close.
• Manzanilla `Deliciosa` Pago de Miraflores – A hint of fresh spring blossom on the aroma with crisp and fresh saline/salty sea air notes along with wet stones on the palate.
• Palo Cortado `Viejo C.P.` VOS – A great combination of flavours, including hazelnuts, walnuts, nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon sticks, dried fruits and more to enjoy.
• Oloroso `Solera 1842` VOS – Delivering full bodied flavours and aroma of mixed and slightly roasted nuts, dried fruits, and melted caramel, all delivering a pleasing length to remember.
• Oloroso `Don Gonzalo` VOS – A very lovely welcome of toasted almonds, caramel, and dried yellow stone fruits on both the aroma and flavours.
• Pedro Ximénez `El Candado` – Perfect for the Christmas period, with lots of complex dried fruits, including raisins and plums, with coffee, toffee, dark chocolate and woody spice. It’s a very smooth and sweet Sherry with a good length, great to sample with some festive desserts or to enjoy on its own.

What Can We Look Forward To In The Future As Sherry Amor Continues To Expand?

“I’ve just started the business offering mixed cases, and will definitely be adding to the range soon. But in the near future I’ll be offering customers the opportunity to build their own case, by selecting individual, special bottles. I’m also very interested in offering some of the non-fortified wines of the region, many of which are made from the main sherry grape, Palomino. The ones I’ve tasted are delicious and great value, with a very interesting diversity of styles.” – Richard Oakley – Founder of Sherry Amor