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by Manos Angelakis
Plutarch calls wine “the most useful of all drinks, the sweetest tasting medicine”, but other ancient authors cautioned their readers about wine viewing it as the cause of licentiousness and strife. It is not accidental that Homer had Circe mixing a drug with Pramnian wine, then serving it to Odysseus (Ulysses) and his companions to turn them into swine.
Today, wines from all over the world are plentifully available and, for the aficionado, this is the time to experiment and explore products that even 20 years ago could only be found in their region of origin.
Amontillado sherries, named after the wine-making style of Montilla-Moriles,fall under the “unusual” category, outside of Spain and the UK. So we convened the gang of usual suspects to experience what, to many, is only known from the title of a tale by Edgar Allan Poe “The Cask of Amontillado”.
Three producers were kind enough to provide samples of 4 Amontillados and we added two more samples from our cellar.
 Perez Barquero provided two samples: From a 1905 solera, Soleras Fundacionales, the Amontillado comes as one of three bottles of exceptional sherry -- the others being an Oloroso and a Pedro Ximénez. They came packaged in a wooden presentation case, with a certificate of authenticity, and the price for all three is approximately $800.
The second sample was from their regular line, Gran Barquero, at a much lower price.
Hartley & Gibson, provided an Amontillado produced and bottled by A. R. Valdespino -- a sherry producer who dates back to 1430. This is a single vineyard product, from Macharnudo in Jerez.
The fourth sample was provided by Vinicola Hidalgo y Cia. Founded in 1792 in Sanlücar de Barrameda, they have been shipping Sherries mostly to the UK for over a century.
From our own cellar came the fifth sample, a Del Duque Amontillado produced by Gonzáles Byass , as well as the sixth, from Pedro Domecq, Domecq Amontillado.
The tasting took place middle of August 2003 and we used typical tapas, Jamón Serrano and both San Simón and Ibores cheese to cleanse the palate and provide a base to explore the different samples. The tapas, made by Alexandra Crowe, our South American correspondent and great cook, were Riñones en salsa de Pimentón (veal kidneys in paprika sauce), Albóndigas al Azafran (lamb meatballs with saffron and garlic sauce), Champiñones en Adobo (mushrooms cooked in a marinade), Paté con Brevas (a liver pâté with fresh figs) and Pulpo a Feira (a spicy, boiled octopus that is usually served during Galician festivals).
Amontillado, is an extremely complex, aged sherry that has been fortified after moving through the first solera, and is further aged in barrels in a second solera without being protected by flor from oxidation. As a result it has a much deeper color than fino -- which is almost colorless -- and a rich, nutty flavor. Alcoholic content varies from 16 to 19.5% and can be either dry or demi-sec.
The tulip-shape of a copita, the traditional glass with which sherry is drunk, helps concentrate the aroma of the wine. When copitas are not available, a small champagne flute with outward curving sides can be a good alternative.
Hidalgo’s Amontillado, was the lightest in color of all, fairly dry, almost tasting like a manzanilla (another style of sherry). A typical aperitif wine, it has some minimal sweetness due to a very small amount of Pedro Ximénez added towards the end of the process. Most tasters stated that they preferred a true manzanilla. It has 17.5% alcohol by volume.
At the other end of the scale, the Perez Barquero, Soleras Fundacionales Amontillado, was a dark demi-sec bottle, beautifully smooth and mellow, with the aroma and taste of a long aged double solera. Most prevalent tastes were dried figs and dates. It is packaged with an exceptional Pedro Ximénez and an equally outstanding Oloroso; to an aficionado the total package is well worth the price.
The other three samples came somewhere in between. The Valdespino, was a true demi-sec, lighter in color than the Soleras Fundacionales and almost as smooth. At under $25.00 retail, it’s a great bargain. Gran Barquero and Del Duque Amontillado were both in the middle, a little dryer, very nice bottles but not truely exceptional.
Many of the tasters did not like Domecq’s Amontillado. The intense sherry taste was thought by most to be excessive, throwing the wine off-balance. I have had the bottle for almost 25 years but it was stored at cellar temperature. I’ve tasted sweet red Greek wine that had sherryized by being kept in a hot liquor-store’s window for months. I wonder if I was sold a Domecq bottle similarly treated.
The consensus was that if you don’t want to splurge on the Soleras Fundacionales, The Valdespino was an excellent alternative on the sweet side and the Gran Barquero as a drier treat.
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