Jerez Wine

It’s been a while. Many apologies! From now on I hope to post more often than every second year.

Something I have been wanting to do for a while is side-by-side tastings of sherries from the same styles. Today it’s the turn of Finos: Tio Pepe by Gonzalez Byass has to be the best know Fino around. La Ina by Pedro Domecq soon to be by Osborne (the brand was recently sold by Pernod Ricard to Osborne) is probably not as wide-spread as Tio Pepe, but here in Jerez they are friendly rivals. Most little bars in town are either a La Ina establishment or are for Tio Pepe.

I bought half-bottles of these two wines. The half-bottle has to be the ideal format for Fino, especially when sitting outside in a sunny spot (where one should always try to be when drinking Fino), the wine doesn’t really have time to warm up before the bottle is empty. If the bottle is not finished in one sitting, then it should be easy to do so before it goes stale.

Both these wines had a very pale golden colour, La Ina with perhaps a touch more colour. Tio Pepe’s aroma was slightly more punchy than La Ina’s, but on the nose both had clean, pronounced, yeasty, flor aromas. Tio Pepe seemed just a tiny bit fruitier, with hints of green apple while La Ina had a more savoury edge. On the finish La Ina went on for a bit longer.

To be honest there was not much in it. Either would have done for me.

I wonder if there is not more difference within bottles of these wines than between them?