Spain: Sherry and Montilla; Fino, Manzanilla, Amontillado

I'll spare you the full-on editorial rant about how underrated proper dry Sherry is, and what a memorable wine and food moment it can be sitting outside a tapas bar in the southern Spanish evening sunshine sipping chilled Fino and nibbling on roast almonds and plump olives; as it's been said a thousand times before (1001 now - Ed.). So I'll cut to the chase with a dozen recommended Fino and Manzanilla (always dry) and dry Amontillado (comes in different guises but starts off dry) sherries, from mega brands to obscure special bottlings that make you go “wow” (flavour- and price-wise). Plus an aged dry style from the lesser-known Montilla region located 200+ km to the north-east of Jerez country not far from the beautiful city of Córdoba. All these wines are made from the Palomino grape variety except the latter made from Pedro Ximénez (used for rich sweet Sherries although the mainstay in Montilla for all styles).

"What is Palo Cortado?" video from www.bodegastradicion.es

Bodegas Barón Manzanilla Pasada Barón – Lively toasted almond notes, yeasty and intense vs rich and nutty vs dry and steely, delicious crisp finish. Yum. €20 Wines on the Green / Celtic Whiskey Shop Dublin, UK importer: Morgenrot Manchester.

Emilio Hidalgo El Tresillo 1874 Amontillado Viejo – Amazing aromas, pecan and caramel yet it's pretty dry and intense, concentrated 'extract' vs mouth-puckering 'salty' tang, very long finish. Superb. €70 as above, £70 Wine Bear, US c. $60 + tax.
Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla – Lighter than I remembered, delicate salty almond flavours and subtle tangy finish. Widely available.

Equipo Navazos La Bota de Fino Amontillado No. 45 Montilla (Pedro Ximénez) – Quite golden yet intense nutty straw profile, huge flavour vs crisp elegant and long. Wow. €47 as above; US: $66-$70 K&L Wines CA, the Spanish Table WA & CA; £38 Swig London.
Bodegas Tradición Palo Cortado 30 years old - More 'cooked' nose with walnut, intense mix of sweet 'n' sour, caramel vs salty, very long. Serious stuff. €85 as above, US c. $100 importer Valkyrie Selections, UK c. £70 Farr Vintners.

Gonzales Byass Tio Pepe Fino – Nice tangy yeasty almond notes, intense and nutty with crisp 'salty' finish. Widely available.

Alvaro Domecq La Janda Fino – Aromatic smoked almond flavours with almost sea salt edges, fresh light and dry with yeasty nutty finish. About €7-€10 in Europe.

Lustau La Ina Fino – Smoked almond tones, very intense and tasty with nice tangy length; very good for a huge brand. Widely available.

Fernando de Castilla Fino – Restrained nose, oilier style palate with smoked almond flavours, softer and less intense perhaps but still very tasty. £10.99 Virgin Wines.

Fernando de Castilla Fino En Rama - Aged 4-5 years and not fined or filtered. Quite elegant and more rounded, nuttier hazelnut notes, subtle intensity on the finish. UK £10+, US $22.

Delgado Zuleta Goya XL Manzanilla En Rama – Toasted almond, tangy and 'salty' with softer finish than some of the others, good though. UK £18-£19 UltraComida, Quintessentially Wine.

Other resources: WineSearcher.com, SherryNotes.com, jerez-xeres-sherry.blogspot.co.uk

Wine tastings & workshops Belfast update: Oct 2015 to Feb 2016

I've changed one date - the first autumn workshop has been put back a couple of weeks into October - on the forthcoming WES NI wine tasting and workshop programme, and added some new dates for your diary in the New Year 2016! Booking options are found at the bottom:

Saturday 10 October: Spain and Portugal one-day workshop £90

"We'll taste and talk about a dozen or so red, white, rosé and fortified wines selected to highlight the very different regions, grape varieties and wine styles found across the 'Iberian peninsular'. This will include well-known 'classics' such as Rioja, Port​/Douro Valley and (real) Sherry​; but throwing in a few surprises too like Galici​a and Vinho Verde for dry whites, serious reds from Dao or the Alentejo and not forgetting the wine 'super-state' of Catalonia, home to some great reds, whites and Cava..." Includes two-course lunch at the hotel.

​​Thursday 29 October​ 7-9 pm​: ​​France vs ​​the 'New World' classic grape varieties tutored tasting £28.95

​"​We'll compare three or four pairs of well-known grape varieties from different regions of France ​with​ certain Southern Hemisphere countries, 'classic' styles of say Chardonnay, Riesling, Syrah/Shiraz, Malbec... (two of each). Which is 'better', or are they just different?!"​

​​Saturday 14 November ​11 am-​2 pm​: "off the beaten track" ​wine tasting and ​lunch £49

"Come and explore the lesser-known, although certainly not less exciting, wine world with this morning tasting of about eight diverse high-quality wines from countries such as Lebanon, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece and fine English sparkling wine too. Includes a two-course lunch at the hotel afterwards."

​​Thursday 26 November 7-9 pm: Italian wines​ £28.95

​"​At​ ​this wines of Italy ​evening tasting​, we'll take you on a guided tour around several of this very​ varied country's wine producing regions ​by​ tasting and talking about ​a carefully selected range of​ tasty red and white​ wines. These will probably include classics from northern Italy, such as Piemonte and Veneto, central Italy such as Tuscany and Umbria, and the deep south e.g. Sicily, ​Campania,​ Puglia..."

Saturday 30 January 2016 one-day workshop (topic to be confirmed) - £90 including at least a dozen wines tasted with your tutor, two-course lunch at the hotel and course manual.

"Essential Wine Tasting" five-week course 2016 - £125

Thursday evenings (7-9pm approx) February 4, 11, 18, 25 and March 3. Full details are on our website:

wine-education-service.co.uk/introductory

The venue for all these events is the Ramada Encore Hotel in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter. More info and online booking on our site:

Wine-education-service.co.uk/wine-tasting-belfast

Facebook.com/WineEducationServiceNI (you have to sign in to FB). Or you can pay by card or your own Paypal account using the PP button below (you don't need an account to do this though). You can change the quantity of tickets on the secure web form:

Select event:

Spain Portugal workshop 10 Oct £90.00 GBP France vs New World 29 Oct £28.95 GBP Off the beaten track 14 Nov £49.00 GBP Italian Wines £28.95 GBP Sat. workshop 30/01/16 £90.00 GBP

Spain: Monastrell - Alicante, Castilla La Mancha

Here's a swift trio of Spanish reds celebrating the moody Monastrell variety, aka Mourvedre or Mataro, which is grown substantially along and inland from Spain's Mediterranean coast, especially further south. The first one comes from near Albacete just inside the Castilla-La Mancha region on the border with Murcia, the grape's spiritual home perhaps, directly inland from Alicante where the other two are from.

Pago de Montal 2010 Monastrell - Smoky liquorice and peppery wild bramble fruits, firm solid and powerful with nice lingering dark vs savoury fruit. €10.99 ? Mitchell & Son, Dublin; £9.75 Martinez Wines, England.

Bodega Vinessens Sein 2011 Monastrell-Syrah - Enticing dark berry / cherry and black olive, concentrated with lightly firm tannins still, attractive savoury vs dark fruit finish. Good. €17.99 Wines on the Green/Celtic Whiskey Shop, Dublin.

Bodegas Artadi Laderas el Sequé 2012 Monastrell - Quite juicy fruity for Monastrell, more 'serious' on the palate with savoury black olive vs dark fruit and a touch of grip. Nice Med red. c. €15/£10 ? James Nicholson, Northern Ireland.