Sherryfest Masterclass: Amontillado
Monday 7 October 2013
,
Hosted by Barbadillo & Osborne
Among sherry aficionados, amontillado is the most highly prized of the sherry styles, exhibiting a distinctive combination of complexity, concentration and finesse. An amontillado begins its life under flor, as a fino or manzanilla, before being aged further in barrel without the protection of flor: thus, it demonstrates characteristics of both biological and oxidative aging, retaining a distinctive flor character even after aging for decades.
In this seminar, we examine a wide array of amontillados, from youthful releases to exceptionally old and rare examples. We’ll be joined by Steve Cook of Barbadillo, a firm that possesses an extraordinary array of amontillado in its bodegas in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, as well as Olivier Gailly of Osborne, a historic El Puerto firm that is also renowned for its collection of old wines. We’ll include amontillados from a number of other sherry houses in this tasting, allowing us to contrast wines of various ages and styles, and to compare amontillados from all three of the sherry towns.