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Peter said this was the best tasting he could remember round my table and then we remembered the New Zealand Pinot Noir tasting and nodded sagely that it was a close thing, but that tasting was in May 2004 so you’ll understand that this was a very, very good tasting with the highest scores for a long time.
Oloroso sherry is dark brown, almost greenish and smells fabulous. We smelt plain chocolate, caramel, muscovado sugar, Malibu and cheese rind. It comes with a range of sweetness and will tell you on the label if it’s sweet or dry. I love Fino, but I can see that it is searingly dry and salty and that the flavours may not appeal to some people. Oloroso, however, it so astonishingly deliciously likeable that it is shocking that the prices are so low. This level of enjoyment could easily be double the price and would still be worth it. Anyone listening in to our tasting would think we were filming something erotic – oh, how we moaned!
Oloroso sherry is made in the same way as Fino except that it’s fortified to a stronger level so that the thick white mould, called Flor, that grows on Fino and protects it against oxidation, is killed and the wine is left in large barrels for a long time, turning brown. The sweeter ones then have rich sweet syrup added.
Our favourite was Lustau, East India Solera, which is £7.99 for 50cl at Waitrose. This one is medium sweet. It smells of dried figs, prunes and malt that many of us had straight from a spoon for health reasons, when small. It tasted like prunes in syrup and left a sweet taste in the mouth. It was fabulous!
Solera Jerezana, Dry Oloroso, which is £6.99 for a whole bottle in Waitrose, smelt of plain chocolate and dark brown sugar. However, in the mouth there is a delicious complex fusion of sweet, sour and salt with a beautiful dry finish. I challenge anyone to give this to a friend and not see their face light up in disbelief. It’s painfully cheap for such heaven.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference, Lustau Dry Oloroso is £6.99 for 50cl. As I’ve said before, Taste the Difference wines seem to have something extra that Tesco’s Finest lack. It smelt of caramel and muscovado sugar – like a delicious caramel sauce. It was very tasty – sweet and sour, with a nutty, salty finish.
The most expensive wine was Valdespino Solera 1842, which is Rich Sweet Oloroso and is £11.99 for a half bottle. It smelt of coconut and reminded me of Malibu, but also the diamond shaped fudge in Quality Street. It tasted sweet and chocolatey, with a dry finish.
Hidalgo Cream, which is a blend of Oloroso and sweetening syrup is £.549 for a whole bottle at Majestic, reduced to £4.99 until 5th February, if you buy 2 bottles. This would make a good sub-£5 present for work colleagues. Our least favourite was Domecq Rio from Sainsbury’s, which smelt of cooking chocolate and was disappointingly thin.