Fino

Straight from the barrel 

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Any time you have the chance to try biologically aged wines from the barrel you must take it.

Here the libation in question was a vino fino by Bodegas Gongora from Seville and, although not a vino fino de jerez, was very decent. It was a nice pale gold colour, not quite crystal clear and maybe a touch of brown/green to it. A delicate, yeasty nose with some nice mineral notes of campfire smoke, and a tangy zing. Not a big, juicy wine but very approachable. It was superb with some jamon de jabugo.

Even more impressive, though, was the venenciador – your man must have served well over a thousand catavinos during the evening and never a drop did he spill. Superb stuff.

Sandeman Don Fino 

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This was a pleasant surprise – I am removed this week to Vienna, a grand old city at the heart of Europe but not a city where I expected to have much access to my favourite tipple. I was quite wrong – at the hotel bar last night there were no fewer than four sherries on offer, including the great Tio Pepe and this. 

You can’t judge the colour here – it was very dark (as night always seems to be in Central Europe)  but despite the gloom there was no mistaking the straw/yeast notes in the nose. On the palate it was very smooth and pleasant, gentle salinity and nice nutty, bready flavours. Perhaps served slightly warm and I had the sense that it may have been open a while, but very nice.

More importantly, since I am here until Thursday it is good to know that these are on hand. 

El fino que va para amontillado vs Solear en Rama

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The hay bales on the manzanilla made me wonder how they would compare to this little beauty that I have had open for a while and which, from memory, had those yeasty aromas in bags, but the comparison is more revealing than I thought.

Next to the manzanilla the fino is a little muted on the nose, but on the palate wow – the px fino is a big juicy raisin in hay bale clothing. It has that salty zing ok, but it is much less savoury, more fruity and the word is rich.

Two really high class wines, but I am a palomino boy based on this.

La Bota de Fino 35 – Macharnudo Alto 

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I haven’t had this for a while. A classic from Equipo Navazos. 

Love the colour – quite a dark brown  like old hay. The nose too is all hay bales and granary bread – an incredibly biological nose. 

It also has a great, bready, savoury flavour – nice balanced acidity and salinity. Not quite as intense and structured as some but flavourful and elegant. 

Very interesting pairing too. It was served in the superb Punto MX  with a mexican dish of roast tuetano (bone marrow) eaten in tortillas with a salsa and onions, chilli and lime- a  fatty, meaty, bready, spicey and citric combination. Great thing about sherry is that it can stand up to anything like this, and the savoury nature of the wine really worked. 

  

Fernando de Castilla Antique Fino

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Last note on the sherries from a busy Saturday night is actually about the first wine up – a Fernando de Castilla Antique Fino that is one of my favourites.

I have to say that I was a bit surprised by this wine. In colour it was less toasted, more yellow gold than I had expected, and on the nose too there was a bit less of the cidery fruit than I associate with Fernando de Castilla. It was a much more yeasty aroma.

It showed a bit more of the fruit on the palate but again it was yeasty and slightly sour. Nicely integrated saltiness and intense in flavour, but not quite as harmonious as other times I have had this same wine.

Still, a nice bottle to kick off the evening.

Terry Fino Maruja

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A historic old bottle of fino that was produced at dinner last night. A really interesting opportunity to taste a wine that has been a long time in the bottle (although an experience that was somewhat lessened by a lack of information – noone had any idea of when exactly the bottle had been bought except that it was years before).

However old it was, it was a very pleasant drop, and it at least seemed as if the years had really knocked the edges off it. Golden in colour, creamy and nutty on the nose and again really soft, bready and nutty on the palate.

Very drinkable – if this is what bottle ageing can do to finos then I may have to squirrel some away (or look for some dusty oldies).

La Panesa 

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The weekend starts here – and what a wine this is. The legendary Emilio Hidalgo fifteen year old fino. It is a gorgeous dark gold colour and has a big nose full of yeast and haystacks, (this wine can sometimes be quiet but this glass is very expressive). Fatty in the mouth and then a sensational, intense roast almond and yeast as it crosses the palate. Intense and long but fine and elegant too. 

Emilio Hidalgo choose not to date sacas and bottlings but privately admit that different sacas have different personalities. Whatever, this wine is singing and is definitely one of the better examples I have tried. Really excellent.

La Bota de fino que va para amontillado 45 – Montilla 

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Another week, another magic number. This one, the number 45, is a “fino on the way to amontillado” selected from Perez Barquero‘s Bodega Los Amigos in montilla. It is said to have an age of 20 years or so.

For an unfined, lightly filtered wine it is amazingly clear and a beautiful dark amber/caramel in colour. On the nose it is right in the sweet spot – as the team say, it is recognizably a fino with hay bales a plenty, but instead of fruit underneath there is nutty toffee and fresh pine needles.

On the palate it shows the full bodied fattiness of a pedro ximenez fino with a really slippy, rich texture. It is also rich in flavour – has a nice zingy start then a surprisingly intense, burnt, salty caramel which fades away to a sort of bitter nuttiness. Very tasty indeed.

Being very picky, it doesn’t seem to have the range and breadth of flavours of the absolute top wines but overall a beautiful looking, wonderfully aromatic and rewarding wine.

Sanchez Romate Fino Perdido 1/2015 

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I am struggling, frankly, to get to grips with the week so far, and needing a lunchtime boost I have come to Taberna Verdejo, temple of great cooking and lovely sherries.

Starting with a favourite here – the fino perdido from Sanchez Romate. It is a beautiful dark gold colour and  super clear. On the nose it is home made apple pie – pastry and baked apples. It looks and smells delicious. 

Not quite as light on the palate you might say – intense salty, yeasty flavour melting away to a long mellow finish – again baked apples spring to mind but more like apple sauce than apple pie. 

I like this more and more – excellent.