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7th February 2008 2 Comments
It’s probably not really fair to compare these two wines as they are a class apart and their prices reflect this. The Gonzalez Byass “Viña AB” Amontillado is from their mid-range, their sacristia “Del Duque” Amontillado would be a more equal match with this Fernando de Castilla Amontillado. Still, I think it’s interesting to compare sherries from different ends of the quality/age scale. Both these Amontiallos are dry, which is the norm in Spain.
They have very different appearances, the Viña AB much paler than the FdC, a function of age I guess and the AB tends to gold, while the FdC is very much in the amber camp. Both are very bright and shiny, surprising for the FdC since they don’t filter their wines.
On the nose, the FdC comes right out and grabs you. Very pronounced and very complex but surprisingly clean. There is all sorts going on in there and I’m not even sure where to start describing the nose. Everything is so well integrated it’s difficult to prize apart all the individual aromas. Nuts, sweet dried fruit, perhaps prunes, raisins. A woody undercurrent, but not the inside of a barrel, more along the lines of pulling the drawer from some posh, mahogany sideboard and sticking your nose inside it. There’s a hint of sweet spice too, cinnamon, perhaps cloves. The more youthful Viña AB is not nearly as complex, but does have a fruity aroma of waxy apple skin with a touch of something mineral a bit like car oil or grease.
The FdC is round and smooth in the mouth. You would not know it had 19% alcohol. The flavours are everything there was on the nose with a very long evolving finish. The Viña AB is quite delicate in comparison and has a nutty, almond flavour. Not nearly as long – as expected.
The Fernando de Castilla has to be something which should be enjoyed quietly on its own, while the Viña AB (16.5% alcohol) would probably work well with a meal, something like barbequed chicken.
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31st January 2008 No Comments
If you’ve never tried PX, you should. It’s a love it or hate it style of sherry, but you won’t know until you’ve had it. Personally, I’m a fan, but since it’s such a rich wine I can’t usually manage more than one glass. It’s the only naturally sweet style of sherry around and is made from a different grape to the more usual Palomino Fino. It’s called Pedro Ximénez . The grapes are left to raisinate out in the sun (for sometimes several weeks) before the juice is pressed. PX sherries are usually dark, gloopy and very sweet.
Today I am trying PX sherries from two of my favourite little bodegas. Fernando de Castilla and Almocaden. These bodegas are right next to each other. They share a wall. Both produce excellent sherries, but have different approaches. Almocaden is very traditional while Fernando de Castilla is a bit funky. I recommend a visit to either, but you do need to make an appointment. Almocaden does have a small shop inside the bodega in amongst the barrels. They sell their sherries by the bottle and also “a granel” (ie bring your own empty bottle and they’ll fill it up). The shop also stocks artisnal breads, chorizo and of course Vinagre de Jerez.
The Almocaden PX is opaque. Swirling it around a bit shows dark brown almost tawny colours. On the nose rich, raisin and dried fig aromas. The Fernando de Castilla is more yellow when swirled and has a less pronounced nose than the Almocaden. It also has raisin aromas, but with toffee or caramel alongside.
In the mouth the Almocaden is very sweet and viscous. The dried fig flavour comes through very strongly – only the crunchy little fig seeds are missing. It’s hot, which is not surprising since the alcohol is 18%, but not out of balance. The Fernando de Castilla is less viscous and seems to have more structure, not as fat. The toffee flavours come through along with a nutty, even woody edge. Both are very long lasting.
A strong, salty, blue cheese should work well with both of these sherries.
