Introduction To Sherry Masterclass @ PWS David Jones April 2026

Quite thick and glutinous. Honeyed notes - though it is bone dry. Salt, bitter pith. Great length. RICHARD HEMMING, jancisrobinson.com

Bone-dry mature Fino is further-aged 7 years oxidatively to become an Amontillado. Pale topaz, amber. Hazelnuts, tobacco, aromatic herbs, tree saps and resins on the nose are followed by smoked almonds and caramel popcorn. There is a salinity of saltbush and seaspray. The biological ageing leaves the palate with an elegant, lean body free of glycerol. It offers up decaying autumnal leaves, acorn husk, salted quince, and a minerality screaming ALBARIZA! This is an elegant and subtle amontillado. THE SPANISH ACQUISITION

With six centuries of sherry production under their belts, Valdespino lay claim to being one of the oldest sherry bodegas in the region. The heart of Valdespino is their vineyards. One of the few bodegas to release single-vineyard wines, their Macharnudo holding is one of the grand crus of Jerez at the highest altitude and located on the famous, and sought-after bright white Albariza chalk soils.

From their savory and fresh Manzanilla Deliciosa and Fino Inocente, to their unctuous and intense Solera 1842 and Pedro Ximenez wines, the quality is world class and the bodega still ferment a proportion of their wines in wood, adding layers of complexity to the finish product. One of the few estates that age in solera far in excess of the DO regulations for all their styles of sherry.

This is outstanding value PX with rasins, Christmas spice, grilled walnut in a lovely rich yet fresh frame. Don't get us wrong, it's sweet and delicious but still comes of with some nice bright citrus peel and orange fruit. Yum!

The non-vintage Dry Amontillado Los Arcos Solera Reserva reveals a medium amber hue along with a nutty, honeyed, dry personality with great acid. Lustau made its reputation in the foreign markets with its extraordinary single cask Almacenistas which had been accumulated by the family over many years as their soleras are among the oldest in Sherry. The family also owns over 500 acres of vineyards. These are all remarkable efforts for their stunning value. While they are still under-the-radar for most American wine lovers, I encourage readers to give them a try as they are great introductory reference points for how profound sherry can be. I first wrote about the extraordinary sherries of Emilio Lustau many years ago, in the early days of The Wine Advocate. The portfolio of under $25 a bottle selections represents remarkable value for their complex, well-made personalities. Lustau includes a bottling date code as purchasers would want to buy Finos and Manzanillas as young as possible. It is difficult to describe the glories of sherry, but I’ll try. These Solera Reservas are all great reference points at a low price point from Lustau. None of the Almacenista soleras, which are single cask and very limited bottlings, are reviewed since they are priced over $25 a bottle, but they can be as profound as any alcoholic beverage in the world. ROBERT PARKER

Light golden brown. Stunningly inviting aroma of caramelised quince. A matching flavour on the palate with a sour-orange honeyed quality in a bone-dry wine. Incredible freshness on the finish and still just a remnant of yeast on the nose, in the empty glass. JUILA HARDING MW, jancisrobinson.com

With an average age of 12 years, the wine immediately exudes soft, rich aromas of dried fruit, mixed spice, and toffee. Layer upon layer wafts from the glass, giving something new with each sniff. The palate maintains that full, robust quality, but with a core of nervy, lifting acidity that leads to a long, sweet spiced finish. Rather than serving the Don Nuño at room temperature, stash it in the fridge for 15 minutes or so before pouring it into a standard white wine glass to help the aromas and flavors pop. COURTNEY SCHIESSL, Forbes

Reductive, chalky nose with tangy lime flavors. There is composed, natural sensibility despite the perception of slightly higher acidity than most palominos, rendering a crisp, bright mouth feel, for which the winemaker Alejandro Muchada credits the salinity and chalkiness. Sharp, yet so delicious and gastronomic. Low sulfur. The wine was topped up, so there is no flor influence here. Shows chalky soil and palomino character. 10.5%. Drink now. JAMES SUCKLING

Once described by Max Allen as licking oyster shells in rolling surf, this ground-breaking Manzanilla comes from a 60-strong cask selection made by Navazos founders Jesus Barquín and Eduardo Ojeda that was plucked from the production of La Guita, one of the most famous (and finest) Manzanilla producers (and where, for decades Ojeda oversaw production in his previous role as the technical director of José Estévez). As always, this current bottling was drawn from its barrels en rama (directly from the barrels with only the lightest filtration). This is how Manzanilla used to be bottled before sterile filtering became the standard in Jerez.

The current batch was bottled in March 2024. It’s a wonderfully potent and briny yet seductive wine with a deep, silky texture and plenty of sustained, tangy drive. Four and a half years under flor and gentle bottling direct from cask has also delivered a vibrant gold colour and some nutty development. It’s a much deeper colour than most other Manzanillas on the market (which are typically very clear due to their youth and sterile filtration). That makes this unique in comparison to other Manzanillas in its price range. It remains light years ahead of more common, conventional Manzanillas.

A fino en rama by Peter Sisseck. Peter is most notably known for his work at Dominio de Pingus, but he found himself in Marco de Jerez. One of Peter’s motivations in entering the wine world of el Marco lay in the fact that it has the world’s oldest continuous vineyard classifications. Even although the big company corruptors have done all they can to erase the signature of the land on its wines over the past 50 years, the pagos remain, known and named for many hundreds of years, if not respected much of late. And, Peter was totally fed up with the corruption and ignorance in his main place of work - Ribera del Duero.

Lemon rind, dandelion, thyme balm, melon tendril, persimmon, straw, parmesan rind on the nose. The mouth’s flavoured with deep chalk, iodine, scents of a rockpool, with a hit of spice to finish - white pepper and anise. It’s gently graduated, the spice rolls beautifully, a hit of feijoa bitters is relieved by talcy tannin and acid twines in gently towards the end. It’s a wine of slow, profound reveal and resolve; there’s great clarity of purpose and journey, without force and it’s deceptively easy for a wine of considerable power.