scottreiner
scott reiner
i know very little about sherry. does anyone know the best place in nyc to go and get a reasonably encompassing tasting experience -- different styles and brands?
sherry
- Thread starter scottreiner
- Start date
Levi Dalton
Levi Dalton
All you need to know is Equipo Navazos and Bodegas Tradicion. Everything else is just footnotes. Hidalgo and Valdespino are interesting footnotes, though. And Lustau on the right day with the right bottle.
Freshness is always an issue with restaurants. We throw a lot away to keep it fresh for folks.
Tintilla de Rota is a good thing.
Freshness is always an issue with restaurants. We throw a lot away to keep it fresh for folks.
Tintilla de Rota is a good thing.
I had some Palo Cortado from Lustau the other day and it was pretty awful. But I suspect that was because I kept it around for two+ months after buying it and not drinking it straight away. The Lustau Escuadrilla Amontillado was very good, by the way [though I don't have too much experience outside of Lustau, so I'm not sure if it gets better than that. Considering the comments above, it seems Lustau isn't on the top of the pecking order].
I'm guessing you can only keep amontillado and palo cortado for about a month after purchase? Or is that true only of finos and manzanillas?
I'm guessing you can only keep amontillado and palo cortado for about a month after purchase? Or is that true only of finos and manzanillas?
Levi Dalton
Levi Dalton
I'm pretty sure that some of my favorite Equipo Navazos bottlings have come from bota once belonging to Valdespino.
I am quite sure that I really liked, and poured by the glass, the Valdespino "Innocente" Fino several years ago when the house was run by the old regime. It is still unclear to me if significant changes in style or quality have occured under the new ownership. It is still early days, when you consider how much stock they probably acquired at the time of purchase.
Certainly I liked the Valdespino Cuban Rum I tried awhile back.
Perhaps VS will share some knowledge with us.
scottreiner
scott reiner
you mean opening it, not buying it, correct?
Jay Miller
Jay Miller
Well, I can say that a Hidalgo PX Viejo held up well for a month in the fridge before being finished off yesterday.
That's PX, Jay. Different grape, elevage bla bla.
I don't think the Lustau and Gonzalez Byass ranges are bad ones to start with. I like Valdespino's Inocenta but have a soft spot for Hidalgo's Pastrana (granted, different styles but the latter works with a broader range of food).
The boutique sherries are interesting but they're difficult to come by and not cheap.
I don't think the Lustau and Gonzalez Byass ranges are bad ones to start with. I like Valdespino's Inocenta but have a soft spot for Hidalgo's Pastrana (granted, different styles but the latter works with a broader range of food).
The boutique sherries are interesting but they're difficult to come by and not cheap.
My experience is that finos and manzanillas lose their freshness pretty quickly after being opened. For awhile we poured more sherry out than we sold, just to so we could offer it on the list. Finally, bowing to the lack of demand, and the sneaking suspicion we weren't doing the sherry any favors, we pulled it.
We do sell Equipo Navazos PX #12, as PX is pretty stable after it's been opened.
We do sell Equipo Navazos PX #12, as PX is pretty stable after it's been opened.
Ignacio Villalgordo
Ignacio Villalgordo
Not much to add here, as it seems that man of you have been exposed to Mr. Barquin.
For me, Valdespino is at the top. And yes, some of the Navazos team's stuff comes from Valdespino. For instance, his Fino (#2, 7 and 15) come from the Inocente solera and, to my knowledge, are's a selection of "botas" that they bottle unfiltered
As mentioned, Hidalgo's Manzanilla Pasada is also very good and I have a sweet spot for Emilio Hidalgo's La Panesa fino
I do not care for Lustau. It is a good entry level stuff but lacks the complexity of great sherry. What they have done best is creating a brand and exporting, so they are relativelly available
Additionally to the links provided by Victor, here are the two amontillado tastings we have conducted in elmundovino:
Anyway, the real expert is Jess. Hope he chimes in
For me, Valdespino is at the top. And yes, some of the Navazos team's stuff comes from Valdespino. For instance, his Fino (#2, 7 and 15) come from the Inocente solera and, to my knowledge, are's a selection of "botas" that they bottle unfiltered
As mentioned, Hidalgo's Manzanilla Pasada is also very good and I have a sweet spot for Emilio Hidalgo's La Panesa fino
I do not care for Lustau. It is a good entry level stuff but lacks the complexity of great sherry. What they have done best is creating a brand and exporting, so they are relativelly available
Additionally to the links provided by Victor, here are the two amontillado tastings we have conducted in elmundovino:
Loading…
elmundovino.elmundo.es
Loading…
elmundovino.elmundo.es
Anyway, the real expert is Jess. Hope he chimes in
No, I meant buying it. I kept it closed for two months or so and just opened it last week. I was kind of shocked at how different the palo cortado was from the amontillado in terms its overall balance that I thought the wine itself must have been flawed by some environmental factor post-bottling. But, perhaps it was just bottle variation or heat that was the culprit and not leaving it around closed for too long.
Always interested in trying new things, so I'll keep a look out for the other producers, though I don't think I'll have much luck finding them in my neck of the woods. Sherry isn't as popular as I think it should be (which I suppose is a good thing for me).
I'm glad that VS said that about Lustau-the one sherry house that's consistently disappointing in my experience. The new version of Inocente I on balance prefer to the old one-less alcohol, less filtration-though the old one had a kind of old world heft that was very charming.
Levi Dalton
Levi Dalton
Lustau often disappoints, and then sometimes will take you by surprise. At times the wines can be quite amazing.
I didn't think that sherry was meant for long cellaring, especially the ones like Lustau that comes with a stopper rather than a cork, but what do I know? I read somewhere that sherry was meant to be consumed relatively soon after bottling, so that is why I made my conjecture. I could be wrong --- certainly wouldn't be the first time.
I would of course happily oblige to being the straight man around here. More Dean Martin I hope than Bob Newhart. Now we just need to find a Jerry Lewis.
Sherry, both opened and unopened, has a much longer life than some Anglo-Saxon pundits give it credit for. Particularly amontillado, palo cortado and oloroso can be cellared for a long time. But even fino and manzanilla, the more delicate 'young' dry sherries, can evolve interestingly in bottle.
Re Lustau: only the Almacenista top-end range is really top-notch. The North American fame of its basic lines is just the result of good distribution and shrewd marketing. If you take a look at our elmundovino tastings (links provided by Ignacio and by myself), you'll see that they are not particularly competitive.
Re Lustau: only the Almacenista top-end range is really top-notch. The North American fame of its basic lines is just the result of good distribution and shrewd marketing. If you take a look at our elmundovino tastings (links provided by Ignacio and by myself), you'll see that they are not particularly competitive.
Duly noted. Though I have to say that if entry-level Lustau is mediocre sherry, then the good stuff must be pretty great.
I'm beginning to suspect the bottle I had was just too warm when I drank it. I chilled it a bit last night and it tasted fine (though not great).
As a datapoint (am I using that particular term of art correctly?), the stopper on the Lustau bottle wasn't one of those synthetic corks used for the basic Pepiere, but rather one of those stoppers you find in whiskey bottles. The material kinda looks like cork with a plastic cap on top and you just pull it in and out when you want to drink it. You don't need a cork screw to open it. I can't imagine that being particularly airtight even before opening the bottle for the first time.
I'm beginning to suspect the bottle I had was just too warm when I drank it. I chilled it a bit last night and it tasted fine (though not great).
As a datapoint (am I using that particular term of art correctly?), the stopper on the Lustau bottle wasn't one of those synthetic corks used for the basic Pepiere, but rather one of those stoppers you find in whiskey bottles. The material kinda looks like cork with a plastic cap on top and you just pull it in and out when you want to drink it. You don't need a cork screw to open it. I can't imagine that being particularly airtight even before opening the bottle for the first time.