In 2012 I learned one of the great secrets in the world of wine: that the wines made in Jerez (and Sanlucar, and Chiclana, and Montilla Moriles), from finos and manzanillas to manzanillas pasadas, amontillados and olorosos (not to mention palos cortados, moscatels and PX), are among the most extraordinary, delicious wines being made anywhere.
I had lived in Spain for over a decade and I had been enjoying wines of every kind for longer than that. I had also cottoned to the quality of the wines I had come across: I always had room in my fridge for a bottle of fino. But I discovered, in a bottle of Palo Cortado (bottled by Equipo Navazos and bought at Enoteca Barolo), what seemed like a new world. It was one of those Cortes gazing out on the Pacific, watcher–of–the–skies type moments. I discovered a whole new dimension to wine, a bass clef to go with the treble, jazz music after a lifetime of military marches.
Since then my journey has taken me even further and I feel like I have happened upon one of the most exciting regions in the world at one of the most exciting moments possible. A region that has long worshipped the cellar, the solera, and tiny yeasts is learning to celebrate terroir, vintages and vines, and is rediscovering a history unmatched by other regions and wines, long buried under the recent industrial past, that once ruled the world.
It is going to be difficult to communicate or explain everything that is going on but I feel I must do my best. For the good of the wine drinking world, much of which is criminally oblivious to the wondrous potential of the South of Spain, and in gratitude to the hard working geniuses down in Jerez who have so enriched my cellar and lunchtimes.
Undertheflor. The name of the blog is inspired by an inspired description of the symptoms suffered on the second morning of an enthusiastic trip to Jerez: all sugar, glycerine removed from bloodstream, replaced with alcohol and acetaldehide. It also refers to the biological ageing almost unique to these wines, and although I have since discovered that the flor is only the start of what makes Jerez unique, it is as good a place to start as anywhere.
Sharquillo. The writer is a Madrid based mancunian who has become a keen drinker of the traditional wines of Southern Spain in all their guises. I have no commercial interest whatever, although I have a growing number of friends in the business and have become a keen follower, in particular, of the young guys that are really tearing it up. (Fortunately, my over the top consumption means that on average everyone gets a turn.)
Pages. You will see some pages across the top with general stuff that I try to keep updated – “Authorities” are the people you should be reading, “Drink it” lists restaurants, bars and taverns that have a good list of sherries (all suggestions welcome), “Enjoy it” has some basics on stemware, decanting etc, “Get it” lists the people and places I buy my sherry from, “Pairings” is, erm, about pairings (and could use a little work), “Scores” can be controversial (you have been warned) and “Tunes” will probably give you a more accurate idea of my age than carbon dating.
Tags. There is also a growing cloud of topics to choose from on the right. Most are pretty explanatory but “Articles” is the tag for third party pieces whereas “Opinion” is my own opining. My own particular obsessions are “Terroir” and “Vintage” (by which I mean wines that are made from fruit of a given year, rather than old wines in general). “Blancos de albariza” refers to the unfortified white wines made from said terroir whereas “PX” refers to all the wines from the latter. I recently added “Bubbles” and “Tintilla” but there are still a few things that end up in “Other Wine”.
undertheflor.com 
Sounds like you know what you’re talking about! 🙂 If you happen to head south to Sanlúcar again I’d love to join you for some wine and maybe try to learn a thing or two – all the wine tastes good to me here, but it would be nice to have a better understanding about the differences/pairings etc!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Funny you should mention Sanlucar – I have never made it despite several attempts (too much to drink in Jerez). Would love to – will let you know!
LikeLike
Oh man! You’ve got to see it at least once – it’s a great little town, good manzanilla too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No doubt – and little moustachioed crustaceans too
LikeLike
What a wonderful blog! There is so little in-depth writing about sherry on the web (at least in English; were I not so monoglot a thicko I am sure there is plenty in Spanish) so this was a terrific find. I absolutely agree with your assessment of Emilio Hidalgo’s wines; La Panesa, Villapanes and El Tresillo are quite stupendous wines by any measure. I have a bottle of Tresillo 1874 awaiting a special occasion and I am rather jealous that you have managed to get hold of the Privilegio Palo Cortado; price and scarcity have made it one that I may have to wait a while for.
Keep up the good work.
LikeLike
Many thanks indeed for your comment and great to hear you like it. There is indeed a fair bit of writing out there – I have put some links in the “authorities” page but it needs some updating. It also sounds like we have similar tastes in wine – although it is hard not to like those. Anyway, many thanks for your kind words and hope you will comment – always great to have feedback. Cheers
LikeLike
We still think that you should spend a bit more time in Sanlucar instead of the bars of Madrid. We will happily take you on a tour of the best bars including Callejuela
LikeLike
I’m up for it. What I need is some kind of official invitation that will persuade Mrs Undertheflor of the scientific benefits of the mission.
LikeLike
A bit slack on my part but have only just spotted that you replied! This summer sometime? The food and wine (now not just sherry – Luis Perez etc.) has improved exponentially.
Christopher Calcutt
cgscalcutt@lineone.net
LikeLike
Just stumbled across your excellent blog. Greetings from Melbourne where we have terrific Spanish importers despite the distance and our own serious wine culture. The wines of Callejuela, Luis Perez, Equipo Navazos, Colosia Gutierrez and the usual bigger players are all available, and even, Los Mayetos. I’ve only stayed in Sevilla, Cadiz and Córdoba for a month in 2017 but the memory lingers. Of the bid houses, Barbadillo stood out as progressive and interested in vineyard source. Gutierrez were quality. Even made it to Montilla Moriles for amazing PX. Favourite bar was Bodega Guzman in the back streets of Córdoba, seemed very authentic. Their pours were dangerously large. My wife and I have friends in Madrid and enjoy crawling those welcoming bars. I reckon they have tractor beams, making walking past impossible. Favourites were La Fisna in Lavapies and La Venecia of course. One day we will return when the world allows us to travel again. It would be great to share a great Palomino perhaps?
If you have time on your hands, my yawn inducing blog is thus cognitivecellartherapy.com
There’s enough Spanish gear to send an insomniac off for hours.
Keep up the good work.
Saludos, Andrew
LikeLike
Hey Andrew, this is great to hear and absolutely – let me know if you do make it over, it would be great to see off a bottle or two!
LikeLike