Black Sherry

Hello I'm new here and in aid of some help.

I came across black sherry when I was working in Australia about 5 years ago in Melbourne. It was served in a wine bar in Port Melbourne by the glass.

I remember it being absolutely stunning, and unsurprisingly thick and black.

I have no idea where it comes from, or if 'black sherry' is even the technical term. I suspect it could be some clever marketing to make it sound more attractive.

Can any of you shed any light on this. I would love to get my hands on a bottle or three!

Thanks

Will

Sounds like something along the lines of a Pedro Ximenez sherry. These are from a particular region of Spain and tend to be very dark and goopy, with flavors of toffee, coffee, etc. If it was from Australia, it couldn't be a true PX but maybe an attempt to emulate the style.

Mike

Will, welcome to our little corner of CyberSpace. Lots of friendly folks and a few old cranks.
Never heard the term "Black Sherry" before but I would guess it's referring to Pedro Ximenez sherry. PX grapes left on mats in the sun to dehydrate to high sugar levels, then fermented. It is used as the sweetening wine to make milk & cream sherries. Some is bottled on its own, often from very old soleras. As it ages it gets darker & darker, thicker & thicker. I've had vintage PX from the late 1800's that is thick as molasses.
Most of the PXs are pretty incredible wines.
TomHill

Actually, there is something called Black Sherry, though the only producer I know of exports it solely to the states.

That wine, Tintilla de Rota, is produced by Lustau.

http://www.emilio-lustau.com/solera-two.htm#tintilla

What I had in Melbourne, which is what I think you are asking about, is a dessert wine made from Black Muscat. It's thick and kind of like a PX Sherry. I remember buying some in Queen Victoria Market, though I haven't experienced any elsewhere that had the same viscosity.

Best,
Joe

Will
Welcome, and I think the guesses at Pedro Ximenez are most likely on the money.

If you ever see De Bortoli Black Noble, that might be worth a try as it might not be too disimilar and I find it very complex. I'd expect it to be around $30 a half bottle, but reckon (for my palate) it's fair value at that price. It's very good alongside an after dinner coffee.

regards

Ian

Although it's seldom seen, there is also a dry Sherry with the nickname of 'black sherry'. It's an Oloroso style, hence the other name of 'black oloroso'. The one I had was from private stock: it was bottled froma fifty year old solera by the Domecq family---and as far as I know was never released commercially.

But I think you've already been informed about what your 'Black Sherry' is, and that's a totally different thing altogether. If you're looking for another version of what you had...you might just seek out something called Malaga. It's sherry-like, and the historical nickname for it is...."Black Malaga"!

Could it have been a liqueur muscat (Rutherglen Muscat)?

Thanks for all the replies. I'm pretty sure I now know what the answer is.

PX, must be it. I had a feeling it was quite old, maybe even turn of the century, but thought perhaps I was wrong.

But if Tom Hill is right, it could quite possibly have been so.

Better news still, on Friday evening, I went to a Spanish Tapas restaurant in London, and would you believe it Pedro Ximenez was on the menu. So I insisted we had to try it. As good as I remembered! Delicious.