Contains 1 bottle each of the Manzanilla, Fine del Puerto and Fino de Jerez 2024
** Please note this is a pre-release offer. The wines should be with us early July.
The Sherry Triangle Jerez de la Frontera is the town furthest from the sea and here the conditions are less humid than in El Puerto or Sanlúcar. Humidity is important to the production of ‘flor’, the yeast that grows on the surface of biologically aged Sherry as it ages in old wooden casks; it protects the wine from contact with oxygen. Flor also imparts salty, yeasty, nutty flavours to the Sherry. Flor can be fickle, it likes very specific growing conditions and those include high humidity as well as a very particular alcohol range of around 15 – 15.5%. Even within individual bodegas, the taste can differ from cask to cask simply based on its location, or how high it is off the ground. Casks situated in the middle of the bodega see more homogenous flor growth than those nearer to drafty windows, for instance.
Fino de Jerez is matured in the lower humidity of Jerez, resulting in a thinner veil of flor and as such less delicate but nuttier flavours. Jerez Finos are therefore the most full-flavoured and rounded of the biologically-aged Sherries.
Manzanilla is a Fino aged in the coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, located on the estuary of the Guadalquivir River which brings in breezes from the Atlantic Ocean. The humidity is high and the flor layer grows very thick here. Manzanilla is famous for its delicate, salted almond and chamomile/floral flavours.
El Puerto de Santa Maria is located in the bay of Cádiz and the area can turn into a bit of a marshland during low tides. El Puerto enjoys a mild climate all year round. The style of Fino del Puerto does, conveniently, combine the best of both worlds: fullness of flavour and a delicate sea breeze character, sometimes with an intensely briny, reductive character that really makes it stand out.
