One candle short

Equipo Navazos “La Bota de Fino 15” (Jerez) – Complex. Deep. Really extraordinary. I tend to think of fino – talking the mass of it here, not just the finest examples – as mostly linear, but this is all polygons and helixes, and there’s more to find in every glass. (8/11)

The difference between Loveau and Lustau

Lustau “East India Solera” Sherry (Jerez) – Very, very, very sweet. No surprise there. Sticky nuts, caramelized and ensyruped, taking on the character of liquid toffee. What more is there to say? You either want something like this or you don’t. (4/10)

Ink

Lustau “East India Solera” Sherry (Jerez) – Not as powerfully sweet as the initial whack of molten brown sugar suggests, perhaps because a thin acidity and faint haze of oxidation combat the syrup. That said, it’s still a very sweet wine…a brown sweetness that bridges the shoulder between the leafy decay of fall and the woodsmoke of a winter fireplace. Though to be honest, it’s less interesting than that. (7/09)

The Master

El Maestro Sierra Oloroso Sherry “15 años” (Jerez) – Frankly, this is a difficult wine for me, and I’m not sure I can do it justice. Intense almond aromas – but more the shells and skins than the sweeter nuts within – and the usual arid, almost-mold-but-more-ancient-than-that, topnote, but with more space and singularity than I’m used to. Then, a stark dryness that tastes…well, it tastes like a decaying building. I suppose that doesn’t make much sense, but try to think what the Acropolis might taste like, were it to suddenly become consumable rather than viewable. Absolutely planar throughout, and eventually I begin to suspect that the wine’s finish doesn’t ever actually end, but just continues to some sort of infinitely-distant asymptote. An extremely intellectual sherry. I think it might be terrific. I’m not sure I like it. Obviously, I need someone to explain it to me, and then we’ll see. Or not. (12/08)

Roman Colosía

Guitiérrez Colosía “Elcano” Fino Sherry (Jerez) – From 375 ml. Very, very fresh-tasting, in a way that almost transports me to Spain. That said, I’m not entirely sure what I’m tasting. Bony and yet overly affable, like a skeletal puppy leaping at one’s palate, there’s an upfront intensity paired with an airy hollowness that I can’t quite wrap my head around. (12/08)

Dutch trading companies

Lustau “East India Solera” Sherry (Jerez) – Very sweet, molasses and maple with heat-concentrated brown sugar but a fairly uninteresting finish of simplistic sweetness. (5/08)

Aragorn

Hidalgo “Alameda” Cream Sherry (Jerez) – Nutty syrup, thinned and with a slightly varnished texture, with the wine’s intense sweetness balanced by an airy midpalate. Finishes a little disappointing, though. (5/08)

Up & up

Alvear Montilla-Moriles Oloroso “Asuncion” (Andalucía) – Very intense, full of old spice and dried-out dates, both hollowed out by the antiquing of ultra-aged wood (I’m not talking about the winemaking here, but the organoleptics). Peppery complexities and a fuller, almost fruit-related character add to the finish. Very interesting. (5/08)

Rendezvous

Alvear 2003 Montilla-Moriles Fino “En Rama” (Andalucía) – This is a richer, bigger style of fino; not heavy, but intense, with a little more salt and slightly rancid nut oil (maybe a personal thing) than usual. Enjoyable. (5/08)

Poe's 7th

Alvear Montilla-Moriles Amontillado “Carlos VII” (Andalucía) – Big and a little bit heated, showing almond, old candle, dry gray soil, and a clipped finish. Damaged, perhaps? (5/08)

Noé valley

Noé Pedro Ximénez “Muy Viejo” (Jerez) – Caramelized prune, raisin, and plum. Very fruity. Soft but full and lush. The exterior is painted with chocolate. (2/07)

Accusations of Byass

Gonzalez Byass “Tio Pepe” Palomino Fino Sherry “Extra Dry” (Jerez) – Shy nose, shy and soft palate, some raw green olive. A beginner’s Sherry. There’s nothing wrong with that, but aficionados will find little of interest here, and even novice experimenters will move on rather quickly. (11/07)