Sherry is one of the world's most misunderstood and underappreciated wines.  Most folks who don't know Sherry think it's either for cooking or for Grandma. 

This month, we present three Sherry wines for your edification:  a Fino, a dry Oloroso and an off dry Oloroso - a bottle each of Tio Pepe Fino (half bottle), Alfonso Dry Oloroso and Dios Baco Oloroso (full bottles). 

Tio Pepe Fino (88 points Wine Spectator)  Bracing and ultradry, here's a fino that begs for tapas. Nut and apple flavors are accented by iodine, and the finish leaves a mouthwatering impression.

Alfonso Oloroso Bone-dry on the palate, this Sherry shows walnut, orange peel and raisin flavors that linger long on the finish. Ideal served slightly chilled with salted, Marcona almonds on a hot afternoon.

Dios Baco Oloroso (93 points Wine Spectator):  Unctuous is the only way to describe this velvety-smooth, chocolate- and treacle-infused Sherry. Quite light on its feet, yet intense and long, with lovely cut that just sends it soaring on the finish.

A primer on Sherry:

Sherry is classified as a fortified wine - made stronger by the addition of brandy, and can age for years, or even decades.

Generally speaking,most Sherries are non-vintage wines, but blended from different vintages using a system called a Solera (a solera is both a process and a name for the stack of barrels used in the process of aging sherry - and other alcohols - by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many years).

Sherrys can be vinted either sweet or dry, or anything in between, and are perfect as an aperitif, accompanying a meal, or as a dessert wine.  (The wines in this month's selections are aperitif and meal wines.)

Sherry is named for the Spanish city of Jerez (Xeres), pronounced hair-eth, located in far southern Spain.  The primary grapes used in Sherry production are Palomino for the dry wines, and Pedro Ximenez and Muscat.

Sherry wouldn't be Sherry if it weren't for the Flor.  Sherry starts out as a dry white wine, with some Brandy added in.  The lighter wines, like Fino and Amontillado are very lightly fortified, for the winemaker wants to encourage the growth of a surface yeast, specific to the area, called Flor.  If conditions are right, the flor covers the wine while it ages in barrel.  This prevents the wine from becoming oxidized, keeping the flavors fresh.  This type of Sherry is called fino if it comes from Jerez, Manzanilla if it comes from the neighboring town of Sanlucar. 

Fino or Manzanilla may be further aged, without Flor, and become darker in color, taking on a slightly nutty, caramel aroma and complex, rich flavors. It's then called Amontillado.

Wines that are deemed to not turn into fino have more Brandy added.  Higher alcohol means no flor will develop, and the wines will slowly oxidize.  Oloroso sherries are aged for taking on more complexity.  

Sweeter Sherry is made by adding wine made from the Pedro Ximenez (PX) or Moscatel grapes. These wines are made sweet by either partially drying them in the sun prior to pressing and fermentation, or by cooking down the finished wine into a syrup. A good Moscatel has aromas of orange and spice, while PX tastes of raisins.

Solera:  Sherries are blended using a unique system called a Solera. Partly filled barrels are stacked atop other barrels. Some Sherry is drawn off from the lowest barrels and bottled, and those barrels are then topped of with wine from the barrels above. Those barrels are replenished with Sherry from the barrels above them, as are the ones above them.  Newly made wine is added to the uppermost barrels. As few as three to as many as nine levels of barrels are used in the Soleras, insuring a continuity of flavor and quality, as well as a house style.

Recipes

For the Fino:  Gambas a la Plancha  Serves four
A delightful tapas to enjoy with a glass of fino or amontillado.   It is a dish that is traditionally eaten with the fingers. Sucking the tasty juices from the heads of the cooked shrimp is considered to be the highlight!.  If this seems unseemly to you, then remove the heads before service


20 medium-large shrimp (about 500 grams) unshelled with the heads intact
1/3 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons of sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
11/4 cups of vegetable oil


Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt in a bowl until blended.
Add the shrimp into the mixture and leave for ten minutes, turning occasionally.
Heat a dry skillet over high heat.
When the pan is very hot, add the shrimp in batches in a single layer.
Sear for one minute.
Decrease the heat to medium and continue cooking for one minute longer.
Turn the shrimps, increase the heat, and sear for two more minutes, or until golden.
Keep the shrimp warm on an ovenproof platter in a low oven.
Cook the rest of the shrimps in the same way.
When all the shrimps are cooked, serve immediately.

For the off-dry Oloroso:  Chicken with Oloroso  Serves 4

I've adapted this recipe from Dorie Greenspan's Around the French Table, substituting Armagnac for Oloroso Sherry. 


Dorie:  "This recipe, une petite merveille (a little marvel), as the French would say, was given to me years ago by Jacques Drouot, the maître d’hôtel at the famous Le Dôme brasserie in Paris and an inspired home cook. I’ve been making it regularly ever since. It’s one of those remarkable dishes that is comforting, yet more sophisticated than you’d expect (or really have any right to demand, given the basic ingredients and even more basic cooking method)."

1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
8 small thin-skinned potatoes, scrubbed and halved lengthwise
3 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
2 carrots, trimmed, peeled and thickly sliced on the diagonal
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 thyme sprig
1 rosemary sprig
1 bay leaf
1 chicken, about 3½ pounds, preferably organic, trussed (or wings turned under and feet tied together with kitchen string), at room temperature
½ cup Dios Baco Oloroso Sherry)
1 cup water.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. You’ll need a heavy casserole with a tight-fitting cover, one large enough to hold the chicken snugly but still leave room for the vegetables. (I use an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven.)

Put the casserole over medium heat and pour in the oil. When it’s warm, toss in the vegetables and turn them around in the oil for a minute or two until they glisten; season with salt and white pepper. Stir in the herbs and push everything toward the sides of the pot to make way for the chicken. Rub the chicken all over with salt and white pepper, nestle it in the pot, and pour the sherry around it. Leave the pot on the heat for a minute to warm the sherry, then cover it tightly — if your lid is shaky, cover the pot with a piece of aluminum foil and then put the cover in place.

Slide the casserole into the oven and let the chicken roast undisturbed for 60 minutes.

Transfer the pot to the stove, and carefully remove the lid and the foil, if you used it — make sure to open the lid away from you, because there will be a lot of steam. After admiring the beautifully browned chicken, very carefully transfer it to a warm platter or, better yet, a bowl; cover loosely with a foil tent.

Using a spoon, skim off the fat that will have risen to the top of the cooking liquid and discard it; pick out the bay leaf and discard it too. Turn the heat to medium, stir the vegetables gently to dislodge any that might have stuck to the bottom of the pot, and add the water, stirring to blend it with the pan juices. Simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens ever so slightly, then taste for salt and pepper.

Carve the chicken and serve with the vegetables and sauce.

Serving

You can bring the chicken to the table whole, surrounded by the vegetables, and carve it in public, or you can do what I do, which is to cut the chicken into quarters in the kitchen, then separate the wings from the breasts and the thighs from the legs. I arrange the pieces in a large shallow serving bowl, spoon the vegetables into the center, moisten everything with a little of the sauce and then pour the remainder of the elixir into a sauce boat to pass at the table.






 

• < Prev
• Next >