A lot of people have a misconception about sherry. They think it belongs in two places. Their grandma or a trifle. The misconception that sherry is wrinkly juice is comparable with the misconception that cars are causing glabal warming. Certainly, car emissions are a contributing factor, but the world’s population of cows emits more harmful gas than the world’s cars and governments don’t ask or a ‘bovine tax’, but they quite happily wallop up the price on petrol. These high taxes are supposed to accelerate the development of ‘clean cars’, but it isn’t working. Governments should say “Oil is going to run out, and soon. Pull your finger out and develop Hydrogen cells. Oh, and if you don’t do it, the ozone layer is going to disappear and you are all going to die” I guarantee that within 15 years we would see cost effective Hydrogen powered cars on the road.Similarly, Grannies may drink sherry, but it is not made for them and them alone. Young people should be drinking this wonderful beverage, but trying to convince them is tricky. Telling them to do it is going to have the same effect as raising petrol prices, which, in simple terms, is sod all! You need to get them drinking it stealthily. You need to fool them into drinking it, and to do it, you need food!
The whole point of sherry is to be eating with it. Everything from an almond, through cured meats, into roasts and with rich puddings, sherry needs food. Hell, even a packet of crisps in a pub would do, but with the right sherry.
Trying some sherries from Lustau proved that we should make more of this wonderful drink, and get pubs and restaurants selling it properly. The main issue is that pubs and restaurants have a crappy bottle of Croft stuck behind the bar, at room temperature and is served like a spirit. It is a wine for crying out loud!
A plate of nuts or with some cold seafood the Lustau Puerto Fino is a light, citrussy smelling sherry with an aroma of rain on hot tarmac smelling sherry. Then you get a yeasty citrussy flavour and there is a little white pepper and peanuts on the palate, and it has super clean acidity. Matured in Puerto de Santa Maria rather than Jerez, this shows a much cleaner fino sherry than the likes of the excellent Tio Pepe from Gonzalez Byass. I prefer this Lustau style, but both are good. 8/10
Lemon zest and then an empty Walkers ready salted crisp packet is what I get on the nose of the Lustau Papirusa Manzanilla. The palate offers up grapefruit pith and lots more salt. It is a good sherry, and, continuing on the finger food theme, salty snacks – pretzels, crisps, salted nuts. It is a touch flabby on the finish however which lets it down. 7.5/10
The Lustau Almacenista Amontillado del Puerto is really good. Honeycomb, quite sweet and chunky with a little fruit pudding, then roast nuts and dried wild mushrooms. A lovely finish, quite clean and with a long, minerally and dry finish. It should go with hard cheeses like Manchego, or maybe even with barbecued chicken. 8.5/10
I love Camembert. The brie like cheese that smells of dirty nappies is fantastic and the Lustau Pada de Gallina Oloroso matches perfectly with it. Bonfire toffee, a bit of burnt lemon and a little rubber on the nose, then a rich, chunky and dried fruit flavour, finished off with caramel and pencil shavings. Wow! 8/10
The wine of the tasting, and the food match of the tasting, was the Lustau 1989 Anada. This 100% Palomino sherry is strange in that it is made like Port. Instead of being fermented to dryness and then sweetened up, this had fermentation stopped when brandy was added, leaving residual sugar in the wine. It is stunning. A lot of rich honey, a little raisin and prunes. Toffee creeps in on the nose and then the palate is rich, spicy, with lovely dark fruit cake and honey roasted peanuts. This goes superbly with Jamaican Ginger Bread! A perfect food and wine match! 9.5/10
Finally, the sticky Lustau East India. It used to be called Old East India, but apparently the American government asked “How old is old?” and so they dropped the first word. Very sweet, but this wine has the Palomino fermented to dryness, then has the brandy added and then it is sweetened with Pedro Ximenez, resulting in a treacle, liquorice and chocolate fest. Aniseed, lots of ginger and a bit of cough drops and coffee on the palate. It is very good but a bit full on. Chuck this over ice cream and it is great! 8/10.
So I think this proves that sherry can go with food and should be treated as a wine. Go out, buy a bottle of sherry, or a couple of half bottles, and give sherry a go. Just don’t use it to make bloody trifle.
Comments