The Dorks of York decided to take up the topic of sherry in spite of the July heat. Pretty cool nonetheless, as most of us have never done a sherry tasting before. Since nobody had any in their cellar, and since three of the guys in the group are ITB, I decided at the last minute (I had only just found out that day that the tasting was that night instead of next Tuesday as I'd thought) to shop on the other side of the border for something unique because our market here has very little on offer in this range, especially in any month except December. I made some phone calls and decided that one downtown Van store had what I needed, so off I went. Unfortunately, though I picked out three sherries, I also picked out several bottles of other wines and the resultant bags of multiple clanging bottles meant that I did not notice until I got home, one 100 mile round trip later, that the store had somehow omitted two of the three sherries.
I wanted to lay down on the floor and CRY. What a waste of time and gasoline. It was embarrassing to take only one wine between two people, but at least the one I ended up with was the finest of the three and my WOTN.
All wines were served blind.
1) Must be fino. Very fresh, pleasantly light and airy with just a bit of herb. Lustau Fino Light 'Jarana'.
2) Another fino. Nuttier and fuller, but much more oxidative which I didn't care for. Others enjoyed it more. Lustao Fino Portofino.
3) Another fino. Rounder, fuller, more nuance and depth. Very very good, 2008 La Bota de Fino. I would buy this!
4) Pretty medium golden color. Gorgeous nose of flowers, almonds and corn, with a lightly caramelled dry finish that just went on and on. Just medium bodied, and I wouldn't have wanted it any heavier. Also, it was a stunning match with the pear and goat cheese ravioli in walnut/orange peel vinaigrette that I brought. Outstanding and my WOTN, it was a Bodegas Tradicion 30 year old Palo Cortado.
5) Strange smell that reminded me of brand new naugahyde (my grandmother was an upholstery seamstress and would make things out of scraps for us), also a bit of smoke. Very watery on the palate. Boring, esssentially. Lustau Almacenista (which in Spanish apparently means Little Market Person). Que pasa?
6) Dark brown, white pepper nose with sassafrass root and orange rind. On the palate, the sweetness was remarkably uncomplex, like simple syrup (sugar melted in water). Brian commented that it seemed less like something fermented than something we mixed up in the kitchen with artifical flavorings--perfect description. Never caught the name but it was in an opaque spray-painted orange bottle with a big black letter S on it. Very poor.
7) Cream soda, whole oranges, lemons, dates, tea and clove. Very good. Broadbent Rainwater Madeira.
'8) A PX, so I passed. I just detest the viscosity of PX's. 2000 Lustau.
I want more Palo Cortado in my life.
. I'm also a huge Palo Cortado fan.