A friend recently asked me for some advice on arranging a wine-tasting; beyond the usual basics, I suggested it might be interesting to have a theme, such as a grape, region or other feature of the wine.
I have done themed tastings around aged Bordeaux, Iberia and the Americas as well as production method wines (i.e. wines whose character derives more from the they they are produced than from grape varieties).
For this line-up, I pulled out one of my own purchases to compare fizzes from France and Spain as well as two different types of sherry.
With a few exceptions, production method wines tend to be from either very cool climates (Champagne or England) or very hot climates (Andalusia, Douro, Madeira).
When asked about my favourite wines, my standard answer is: mature wines, production method wines and cool-climate wines. Essentially, I really like older, cool-climate wines that taste of something more than mere primary fruits.
All of the wines in this line-up are defined by their production method - for the fizz, it is secondary fermentation in bottle on the lees, which provides a food-friendly leesy complexity (as well as the bubbles).
For the sherries, it is the blending across years and growth of flor in the barrel which imparts a tangy dryness; in the case of Manzanilla, the flor character is more evident due to the cooler conditions where it is produced. For Amontillado, the flor is allowed to die away and the wine ages oxidatively acquiring complex roasted flavours of nuts and spices.
We started with the sherries as pretty much the perfect aperitif, matched to simple, tapas-style starters of chorizo, roasted almonds, manchego, olives and bread with home-made mayonnaise.
The fizzes were opened with a continent-hopping main course of chicken Thai green curry.
The sherries
Barbadillo Solear Manzanilla (£10.99, Waitrose, £9.50 Ocado - also in half-bottles, see footnote)
Made in Sanlucar de Barrameda, using both cooling ocean breezes and cool air current from a bend in the Guadalquivir river to grow the flor to optimum thickness and impart more flavour to the wine, Barbadillo is a family company and one of the great names of sherry.
pungent with pastry shop, camomile, almonds and hazelnuts; fresh and savoury with oatmealy leesiness, saline minerality, white fruits and white pepper; elegant and adept with very good underpinnings.
Good.
A versatile food wine, match with Andalusian tapas or any salty foods such as salamis, olives and hard cheese.
Very Rare Amontillado Sherry (£9, marked down to £1,79, 37.5cl, Marks & Spencer)
deep brown, with nuts, coffee, nutmeg, old leather roasted almonds and dried apple, apricot and prunes; charred cedarwood, toasted hazelnuts and exotic citrus peel with fresh acidity. Complex and adept.
Good.
Match with roasted almonds or roasted / char-grilled beef.
Fizz
Champagne is the benchmark style of sparkling wine and it commands a hefty premium for the name; Spain's cava, by contrast, is working hard to match its pricing to the improved quality and cost of production.
Cava Sumarroca Gran Reserva 2017
Good cava is one of the wine world's great bargains; this one is made using the Traditional Method with three years' lees ageing for complexity by a family-owned house .
lemon peel, roasted hazelnuts, white flowers and leesiness; fresh, citrussy and poised with lemons and limes, creamy-nutty leesiness and saline minerality. Harmonious and long, very adept and elegant.
Good.
A versatile wines. serve as an aperitif, match with mixed starters or mains such as fish and chips or green Thai curry.
Les Pionniers Vintage Champagne 2013 (£27, The Co-op)
Made only in the best years, Vintage Champagne should be left at least 10 years before opening. On that basis, this one is a little young, but is showing well now and has plenty of life ahead of it.
golden sandy yellow with complex orchard fruits, bruised apple, citrus fruits, melonskin and toasted brioche; dense, concentrated and fresh with a fine mousse, citrussy lemon curd and lime marmalade, orchard fruits with red berries and savoury-leesy oatmeal, creamy brazil nut and saline minerality. Complex and long.
Very Good.
Match with lighter game or seafood-and-pastry such as prawn vol-au-vents or salmon-en-croute.
***
Half-bottle of the Barbadillo Manzanilla:
- Wine Society £5.95
- Loki Wine Merchants £7.99,
- Banstead Vintners £6.99
- Latitude Wine Merchants £7.50,
- Rannoch Scott £6.19
- Sandham Wines £6.20
- Vintage Cellars £6.50
- Gusto Wines £6.60
- The Whisky Exchange £6.76
- Mumbles Fine Wines £6.95
- Oxford Wine Co £7.25
plus many other good independents.
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