Calvados, Sherry

Light, fragrant-but-steely nose – not unlike a dry Riesling! Very long, pure and pungent. Lovely wine! And a fabulous aperitif. (17/20) JANCIS ROBINSON MW

Sanlúcar de Barrameda sits on the estuary of the Guadalquivir river with Atlantic breezes coming off the ocean. Its microclimate impregnates the yeasts growing on the surface of the Manzanilla with a rare sea salt character. Selected for its delicacy, this Manzanilla is aged under “flor” in American oak casks for five years and bottled without any treatment. LUSTAU

One of the large, historical houses of conventional sherry-making, Williams and Humbert nowadays offer a layer of distinct wines within the fluidity of its 'Sherry' styles. Under the young generation leadership of Paola Medina Sheldon, the Williams Coleccion is a series of astonishingly delicate and singular vintage sherries, or añadas: statically aged single-vintage wines, with terroir as important as bodega influences. Paola mainly takes fruit from the 'las Conchas' vineyard within Pago Añina (jerez), and some from old vines in Pago Carrascal (jerez). 

In every respect, Finolis parallels Willy Perez's remarkable statically-aged natural alcohol Fino Caberrubia (from the same Pago), except that it's a half degree of booze short of the regulations. Only 50% free run juice yield from pressing was used, fermenting naturally to 15%. The wine was then aged in old 600L Fino casks with 20% ullage to allow plenty of Flor. Later, at nearly 5 years of age, the wine was bottled en rama (unfiltered), however the DO refused to ratify it as a Fino as the alcoholic degree had diminished, and it's in the market as table wine of Cadiz, not Fino.

This is the most renowned pago in Jerez, planted on pure albariza, a white soil high in calcareous microfossils. Equipo Navazos sources the 115 from a bodega that farms their vineyards entirely by hand and without chemical inputs.
My heart stuttered a bit when the glass was set in front of me: rather than the pale-lemon colour I've come to expect in fino, it was a soft apricot, and I worried that it was past its prime. It was not. It smelled fresh and characterful - Could a wine be more Spanish? It smells like the sea, rich, fatty Valencia almonds, orange zest kneaded into yeasty bread dough, a touch of Manzanilla olive brine and a caramelly tang like birch syrup. It's richer and more savoury than any fino I've encountered, with heightened viscosity and concentration. The finish goes on forever. SAMANTHA COLE-JOHNSON, jancisrobinson.com

The NV La Bota de Fino 115 is still 100% from Macharnudo Alto, and they are trying to make a slightly more fluid wine, not like a Fino Amontillado, which was the case with some bottlings coming from the selection of very old soleras. It's slightly different from the previous edition, number 91; this is slightly younger, between seven and eight years of age, but it keeps the same style, just a little more approachable. It's still an old Fino, with notes of esparto grass and volume in the palate. (95) LUIS GUITERREZ, The Wine Advocate

Bottled a few days ago. From the Machurnado vineyard. They have decreased the average age by a couple of years so it's seven or eight years on average and the wine is more refreshing and not so uncomfortably concentrated. Firmer and nuttier than I Think Manzanilla with real tang and bite. Hint of molten dry treacle. Real grip. Neat and convincing. Not yet open - needs a couple of months. JANCIS ROBINSON MW

Wheatie, course ground grains and a background hint of fresh toast with wildflower honey. That alone had me coming back. But the aromatics are multidimensional, they run through a wild, complex and beautifully constructed spectrum, from perfume to damp stone, hay to honey roasted nuts. Crazy nuance and head spinning detail. There is so much involved here, but it is by no means bombastic. These details are, at times, faint little suggestions that mingle amongst more obvious characters. It takes time in the glass and air to shake loose some of the more reticent attributes. But they are so inviting and alluring. It is worth just sitting on a glass for a while. I poured some aside to keep coming back to over a couple of days.
The subtle, though not shy, nose does not prepare you for the impact on your palate.
It hits with some force, there's a lot of flavour here and it begins on impact. From the moment it touches your mouth it is a crazy dance. Intense, unusually concentrated and powerful for the style. Loaded up with character and brimming with confidence. This is a Sherry of presence and stature, however it does not depart from the things that we all love in Fino. Salty. Oh, so salty. Fresh feeling, it pops with a sense of spring in the mouth but then leans in to autumnal notes as it slowly, so very slowly, fades away. A final twang of salinity and chalky texture on the incredibly long finish, reminds you exactly what you are drinking.
This is both thoroughly and utterly delicious as well as deeply convincing and totally spellbinding. I love it! ROSCOE

Williams Paola Medina Fino de Anada 2010 500ml
Based on old vines in Pagos Añina and Carrascal (jerez). Product of a cool, humid vintage.
The 2019 saca is the last bottling of this incredible Fino.

Hints of brassy development, really mature standing grass, traces of fine caramelised toffee as pure perfume, weightless and dry. Great depth without weight, very true to style, tangy as heck, whisper clear and still with a trace of whisky-wildness. SCOTT WASLEY


Williams Paola Medina Amontillado de Anada 2001 500ml
ABV 20%. Only 750 litres bottled. After delicate fermentation (17-22 degrees), the original Fino was aged biologically at 15.5% and later re-fortified to 18%. Later amontillados (after 2003) have not been re-fortified at all. This, Paola's first Amontillado, was aged biologically for 10 years, by which time it had naturally evolved into a developed Fino without flor, and was classified Amontillado, re-fortified and aged oxidatively.

Supremely elegant, mineral and vibrant with great complexity. Brilliant amber in colour, very complex aromas, dry in the mouth, mineral, rounded and persistent. SCOTT WASLEY

Williams Paola Medina Palo Cortado de Anada 2002 500ml
2.9 pH, 6.3 TA, 20% abv. As with the other wines, the fruit source is Pagos Añina and Carrascal. This wine is from a fruit selection of extremely fine young material which Paola hoped might develop naturally into a Palo Cortado. After 17 years' ageing the wine was finally classifed Palo Cortado in 2018, and this is its first bottling as such.

Extremely fine and silky wine, elegant and mineral. Golden mahogany to look at, complex tobacco-timber-mineral aromas, delicate and subtle in the mouth, the elusive fine-unctuous double nature of Palo Cortado in clear view. Balanced persistence in a really long finish. SCOTT WASLEY


Williams Paola Medina Oloroso de Anada 2001 500ml
Super deep and complex, rich and saline, with a pure developed perfume. Mapled acorn-rich, lightly glyceric, deeply spiced, strong at the rim, releasing to an ethereal boof from a structural base. Fine glazed toffee nut, orange blossom, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, dried chestnut honey, toasted hazelnuts, delicate tangerine caramel, brandied citrus, sandalwood. The acidity itself is incredibly complex, carrying brine and rind, fine old wheat and praline in a gloriously patinated, running mouthfeel. SCOTT WASLEY 


*Due to the very nature of this collection, this sherry is limited. Arriving in Australia August 19, 2019