I wonder if anyone can answer this question?
I have three bottles of sherry (amontillado and fino) that have been stored for some years in the mistaken belief (not mine) that they would mature. I'd say that they have been kept for about 5-7 years. I can see plenty of fine sediment and oxidization (darkening of the fino) when held up to the light.
These bottles have never been opened and the corks seem fine. Would they still be drinkable? If so, how should I proceed?
Many thanks.
Graeme
They are probably drinkable, as opposed to manzanillas which would not be. I remeber drinking some 45 yo Seppelts sherry that was waylaid in a winery corner which was quite nice.
Ron Lel
Many finos tend to lose freshness and become a bit stale when they are stored for several years. In the US I try to buy fino from a store that has good turnover and drink it soon after purchase.
I would just stand the bottles up for several days or a few weeks to hopefully allow most of the sediment you mentioned to fall to the bottom of the bottle. Then pour or decant the fino very carefully. There is considerable variation in brands of fino, so it is difficult to guess what kind of shape it is in. Most of the best finos are quite dry, often are best somewhat chilled, and can be drunk with a wide variety of foods as well as alone.
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You are right, normally Manzanilla is Manzanilla Fina, although Manzanilla Amontillada does exist.
M.
Hi Graeme
The Fino is almost certainly undrinkable, they are made to be drunk as soon as they are bottled (or before) and begin to deteriorate straight away. The Amontillado (a Fino which has been allowed to oxidize before bottling)
*could* be okay. No harm in finding out, please let us know what they're like.BTW, Ron, Manzanilla is Fino: just Fino from the seaside rather than the town :-).
Regards Sammy
rather
Manzanilla is also chamomile tea, as I learned to my chagrin at a bar in Madrid some years ago.
Tea (chamomile or otherwise) was what *not* what I expected to get when I asked for manzanilla.
Yeah, the same happen to me at a camping site and in a restaurant, both in Pamplona, although in both cases the Manzanilla was listed under the sherries. In the latter case - after my first attempt at the camping site - even ordering "vino manzanilla" didn't help.
M.
In fact, you should have said that "manzanilla" is also the name of a type of sherry. Because "manzanilla" means first and foremost, chamomile... ;-)
Mike
Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link
"Ken Blake" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com...
me too, in Palma. Anders
Fun stuff !
Chamomile comes from the greek khamai-melon (ground apple). Melon Apple = Manzana...
Mike
Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link
Hi
I'm pretty sure that the word derives from the Spanish for apple (manzana) and (historically) refers to the high acid of the wine. Some examples to back this idea up are Manzanilla olives which are known for their bitterness, the Manchaneel tree which is known for it's (dangerously) acid sap.
Incidentally, Palomino (the *good* grape of Manzanilla) is the only white grape to have a naturally higher Malic than Tartaric acid.content. Malic derives from Latin Malus which means apple. Nice, eh !? :-).
I hope you enjoyed my little etymological flourish. I studied some of this at uni: it seems I haven't forgotten everything :-). Or I could just be wrong.
Regards Sammy
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