Looking for great sherry no one has ever heard of

[SWISS_CHEF]

I consider myself a sherry beginner even though I have been drinking it for 20+ years. I am very fond of the Lustau line of sherries but they are hard to find here in Switzerland. Can anyone suggest some other really fine but rather unknown sherries to look for? I like dry sherry well enough but I really love the medium to sweet sherries.

Thank you, Ed

[vserna]

Three new or newish bodegas with outstanding lines of old dry sherries (oloroso, amontillado, palo cortado), in part because they have acquired older soleras from older wineries that were disappearing or being merged with others, are El Maestro Sierra, Tradición and Rey Fernando de Castilla. I'm sure at least one of the three must have a Swiss importer. Tiny productions, though!

[JesusBarquin]

Ed, if no one has heard of it, no one could tell you...

Well, sorry for the obvious joke.

I agree with Víctor's recs: Fermando de Castilla and Tradición produce very good wines and, given that you mention Lustau, it is interesting that El Maestro Sierra used to be an Almacenista that worked for Lustau: the excellent Oloroso Almacenista Antonio Borrego came from the same soleras that today give the Oloroso Viejo 1/14 by El Maestro Sierra.

Regarding medium and cream, they are not my favourite styles but in this cathegory there are several outstanding old wines that I guess you know well, such as (from less sweet to sweeter, more or less): Palo Cortado Apóstoles (González Byass), Oloroso Solera India (Osborne), Oloroso Sibarita (Domecq), Oloroso BC 200 (Osborne), Palo Cortado P Triángulo P (Osborne), Oloroso Solera 1842 (Valdespino), Oloroso Matusalem (González B.), and many others, by Williams & Humbert for instance.

Do not hesitate to ask my/our opinion about any other sherry wine. Most times it is easier to comment on a concrete basis of what is actually available to you.

In a recent congress in Granada, a Sherry Cream was very nicely paired with a sweet cheese dessert by Manolo de la Osa.

[SWISS_CHEF]

Ed, if no one has heard of it, no one could tell you...

Well, sorry for the obvious joke.

I agree with Víctor's recs: Fermando de Castilla and Tradición produce very good wines and, given that you mention Lustau, it is interesting that El Maestro Sierra used to be an Almacenista that worked for Lustau: the excellent Oloroso Almacenista Antonio Borrego came from the same soleras that today give the Oloroso Viejo 1/14 by El Maestro Sierra.

Regarding medium and cream, they are not my favourite styles but in this cathegory there are several outstanding old wines that I guess you know well, such as (from less sweet to sweeter, more or less): Palo Cortado Apóstoles (González Byass), Oloroso Solera India (Osborne), Oloroso Sibarita (Domecq), Oloroso BC 200 (Osborne), Palo Cortado P Triángulo P (Osborne), Oloroso Solera 1842 (Valdespino), Oloroso Matusalem (González B.), and many others, by Williams & Humbert for instance.

Do not hesitate to ask my/our opinion about any other sherry wine. Most times it is easier to comment on a concrete basis of what is actually available to you.

In a recent congress in Granada, a Sherry Cream was very nicely paired with a sweet cheese dessert by Manolo de la Osa.

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Hi Jesusand vserna,

Thanks for the tips. Now I will start to look for them in Switzerland. I am a wine merchant here and I would like to import some of these sherries. I have to apply for my import permit first though and that can take some time but your tips will point me in the right direction.

Regards, Ed

[g_camper]

I am fond of Solear - Manzanilla de Sanlucar. I find it to be so smooth, but I love all manzanillas. It is widely available in Spain, but I haven't seen it too far afield.

[vserna]

Barbadillo, which produces Solear, makes more than 50% of all manzanilla bottles that can be found on the market in the world, and the wines are widely available worldwide.

[jackal10]

Try Montillas.

Amazing wines from Andalucia, closely resembling Sherry. Attaining very high alcohol levels 14-16% without fortification. Astonishingly rich, complicated and fantastic value. In particular try Alvear Pedro Xinimez, if you like sweet wines. The Solera 1927 is Christmas pudding in a bottle!

Available in Switzerland from Top Wines http://www.topwines.ch/, but other sources may be cheaper. Locally here Cambridge Wine have it for GBP 9.99 http://www.cambridgewine.com/winelist.html

[SWISS_CHEF]

Try Montillas.

Amazing wines from Andalucia, closely resembling Sherry. Attaining very high alcohol levels 14-16% without fortification. Astonishingly rich, complicated and fantastic value. In particular try Alvear Pedro Xinimez, if you like sweet wines. The Solera 1927 is Christmas pudding in a bottle!

Available in Switzerland from Top Wines http://www.topwines.ch/, but other sources may be cheaper. Locally here Cambridge Wine have it for GBP 9.99 http://www.cambridgewine.com/winelist.html

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Oh now I have a project! Thanks Jackal!

[adt]

This post:

http://fora.erobertparker.com/cgi-bin/ulti...ic/1/54155.html

has some fascinating sherry tasting and food pairing notes, and cites some very interesting sounding sherries. I guess it’s the congress Jesus mentioned, as his name crops up…?

I used to be fond of Valdespino Solera 1842 some years ago, when it was available in the form of a dry oloroso, but it now only seems to be available in a sweeter, pedro-ximinez’d form – you may prefer it this way.

The sherry I drink most often is Hidalgo’s La Gitana manzanilla. I’m afraid it doesn’t fit your bill, as it's very widely available (my nearest supermarket sells it) and pretty cheap, but it’s an excellent everyday food manzanilla, and a real bargain I think. It is extremely pale and clean tasting, more elegant than some manzanillas, but with a touch of the requisite sea-saltiness.

[JesusBarquin]

This post:

http://fora.erobertparker.com/cgi-bin/ulti...ic/1/54155.html

has some fascinating sherry tasting and food pairing notes, and cites some very interesting sounding sherries. I guess it’s the congress Jesus mentioned, as his name crops up…?

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It is, indeed.

I used to be fond of Valdespino Solera 1842 some years ago, when it was available in the form of a dry oloroso, but it now only seems to be available in a sweeter, pedro-ximinez’d form – you may prefer it this way.

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Excuse me, but I guess you are mixing two different wines. As far as I can recall (20 or more years ago), Solera 1842 has been always a sweet oloroso, blend of old oloroso with PX (more or less, 60 g sugar). It is very good, to my palate, although I prefer Don Gonzalo or Solera de Su Majestad, which are quite drier.

[adt]

Excuse me, but I guess you are mixing two different wines. As far as I can recall (20 or more years ago), Solera 1842 has been always a sweet oloroso

Yes, I was rather confused when I discovered it (via the Internet) as a sweet oloroso. I've tried it since, but despite the gap of a few years since the dry oloroso I remember ceased to be available in Cambridge, I'm pretty sure it was different. I've always preferred dry sherries, and it was rather sweet for my taste.

Don't know if my memory is playing tricks, but I'm pretty certain it was a Valdespino dry oloroso I used to get, and I do remember it having the C19 date in the name. Very odd.