Le Rosé de Mouton Cadet, Bordeaux — €12.99
A highlight for many of us was the focus on fortified wines with Chris Forbes from Taylors Port presenting some beautifully made wines and there was Madeira and sherry which are now officially cool again.
International Sherry Week begins on Monday so make sure to have a Tio Pepe or one of the recommendations below in the fridge. Dry fino matches food very well and is the perfect partner for everything from fish and chips and calamari to jamon and chorizo or any Spanish dish.
Sherry is fortified with a little brandy after the grapes have fermented into wine and then aged in barrels. Fino sherry is aged under a cap of yeast called flor which keeps it fresh, but if the flor dies (or is killed by adding more brandy), with further ageing it becomes a dry Amontillado with a nutty rich flavour and a dark colour. Unfiltered fino or Manzanilla is richer tasting and called “En Rama”.
Sherry aged without flor is Oloroso which has a complex dried fruit flavour and more glycerine, so will taste softer. Cream or Medium sherries have some sweet wine from the Pedro Ximinez grape added.
Recommendations this week are mostly Sherry but also a Madeira which works well in cold or hot weather.
* International Sherry Week, June 2-8 — Visit L’Atitude 51 every day next week for sherry cocktails, tastings and a Tapas & Sherry matching (€15) on June 4 – 021-2390219. Alternatively join me and other enthusiasts at the Cervantes Institute, Lincoln Place, Dublin from 5.30-7.30pm on June 4 for an informal free tasting.
* Wine West Wednesdays (WWW) at the Twelve Hotel, Bearna, Galway begins on Wednesday June 11 — 6.30-9pm for the following 12 weeks. Wine focused get-togethers where you bring your own wine (corkage €10).
O’Donovans, Independents
Strange as it may seem, not everyone loves Sherry so here’s a Rosé recommendation appropriate for bank holiday BBQs. Strawberry and red currant aromas, light and crisp with more red fruit on the dry finish. Perfect for drinking outside with spicy wings or a chilli burger.
Marks and Spencer
This is a very typical and excellent value Manzanilla from M&S who have always had an enlightened attitude to Sherry. This was commissioned from Williams & Humbert and has classic yeast, straw and floral aromas with a bracing dry crisp flavour and nice weight and a hint of salt.
Marks and Spencer
Made for Marks and Spencer by the famed house of Lustau this is 20% abv, nut brown in colour with aromas of chocolate and raisins and hugely complex flavours of fig and dates mixed which give a perception of sweetness even though this is bone dry. Outstanding stuff.
Stockists: Curious Wines Cork www.curiouswines.ie, Red Nose Wines Clonmel
One of the best of the small independent Sherry houses revitalised by its new Norwegian owner since 1999. This is a particularly fresh and floral tasting fino and a very good introduction to the style thanks to its softer tones and rich soft palate with some aromatic grapey characteristics.
Stockist: Celtic Whiskey Shop/Wines on the Green
Manzanilla is from the coastal village of Sanlucar de Barrameda near Jerez. Manzanilla is usually a little drier and saltier than Fino. As an En Rama (raw) style this has a more complex briny aroma along with yeast and straw. Almost rich on the palate with a salty tang on the finish.
Stockists: Celtic Whiskey Shop/Wines on the Green, Terroirs, Vintry
Barbeito is one of the most progressive of the Madeira houses and was probably the star of the fortified tasting at Ballymaloe. This 5-year-old Malvasia is 19% abv and is richer than any of the sherry on the page with earthy dried fruit aromas, a sweet centre and a complex lingering acidity.
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