A splendid and extremely good value apero for the odd warm day at the start of Melbourne’s fickle summer. I’m very happy the ethanol barn that’s Dan Murphy’s direct import this and Solear and turn the stock over quickly, less so that they didn’t persist with Barbadillo’s great Pastora and Principe Amontillado at good prices too. Only serves to keep Sherry as a cheap option for lots of alcohol perhaps. I’m also more than happy to carry on at length about how the quality of Sherry has improved so much over the last decade or so. Compared to some of the basic, big label Champagne at three to four times the price, this yeast affected gem is a screaming bargain. This saca as the bodegas call drawing a new batch of wine from the solera again shows how much better are the base wines and how much more care is obviously being exercised in keeping things fresh and clean. This bottling is delicious. Smells of fresh bread, quinine and chamomile build with a salty undercurrent. Large flavours of golden apples, almond, green olive and a touch of bread dough are twisted into shape by some flor driven quinine and a flow of sweet ripe acidity and a mouthwatering dryness. Suspend those prejudices about gran’s sweet flagons and indulge in one of the wine world’s great traditions, now better than ever.
I know it’s now a much more consistent product but hiding the bottling date code in a faint glass etching makes it difficult to check freshness. Not that a year of rest does no harm now it’s screw capped and clean. Maybe clearly explaining the process of criadera and solera bottling on the back label would educate the more sophisticated drinker the Sherry industry badly needs?
15% alcohol. Screw cap, hooray. $21.
93 points.
Cognitive Bottle Therapy 