Tasting a Trio of Sherries

As promised, I want to share some tasting notes and producer information for the three Almacenista sherries I sampled at the recent “Taste of Revolution” event.

Almacenista, you’ll recall, is the name given to a group of entrepreneurs maturing limited quantities of fine-quality, handcrafted, dry sherry in tiny bodegas in the Spanish city of Jerez de la Frontera and the coastal towns of Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Puerto de Santa Maria. Here are three examples:

Bodegas La Cigarrera: Named for the women who made and sold cigars on the streets of Andalucía, this Almacenista began operations in 1758. Ninth-generation cellar master Ignacio Hidalgo began bottling his own Manzanilla in 1997 using exceptional raw materials sourced exclusively from vineyards in the Jerez Superior DO. The proximity of the bodega to the sea creates a thick layer of flor that blankets the wine year-round and imparts a distinctive salt-infused character.

La Cigarrera Manzanilla sherry spends four years aging in solera. The resulting wine is vibrant and fresh with the aroma of ripe apples, citrus, and nuts. The palate is clean and refreshing with a sea-kissed tanginess and a long, nutty finish.

El Maestro Sierra: This bodega was founded in 1832 by a former master cooper. Enjoying a unique location in Jerez, the back of the bodega has a clear view of the Atlantic Ocean. This proximity to the water allows for the flor at the winery to be present all year, giving the wines a unique quality.

We tasted a range of exceptional El Maestro Sierra sherries but one that stays with me is El Maestro Sierra Amontillado 12 Años. As the name implies, the sherry is aged in solera for 12 years, emerging with a nose full of caramel, nuts, and brine. The palate is similar but with an interesting twist that I can only describe as a touch of Bit-O-Honey: a favorite candy from my youth consisting of almond bits embedded in honey-flavored taffy.

Gutierrez Colosia: Founded in 1838 in the town of El Puerto de Santa Maria, this bodega is located on the banks of the Guadalete River, where strong breezes from the ocean create a very active year-round flor. Juan Carlos Gutierrez, who runs this fabulous old bodega, began estate bottling his wines in 1997.

My favorite of the Gutierrez Colosia selections, the Sangre y Trabajadoro Oloroso, is named for a tradition that dates back to 1910 when an old cooper, whose shop was located in Puerto de Santa Maria's meat market, put some of his barrels to personal use by making his own Oloroso. After sharing his Oloroso with the local butchers, he named it in their honor: Blood and the Worker or Sangre y Trabajadero.

This dry wine has nutty, rich aromas of caramel and bittersweet chocolate.  The palate is almost sweet with full-on flavors of butterscotch and a hint of citrus pith on the finish, giving freshness to the otherwise full body of this sherry style.

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Tags: wine | sherry wine

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