Dining: Great Danes; Copenhagen’s top restaurants
12 October 2020
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13 October 2020Variations on a Theme
Sherry is making a comeback, or – given the number of London venues focusing on its amber-hued attraction – perhaps it has already made one
T
he subject of sherry has been a staple of wine writers for well over a decade. Typical articles will trot out the drink’s popular image – pre-World War II England, Harveys Bristol Cream and thimble-sized glasses – and attempt to overturn people’s clichéd preconceptions by banging on about how it’s actually one of the greatest, most underrated drinks in the wine world.
Sherry is making a comeback, or – given the number of London venues focusing on its amber-hued attraction – perhaps it has already made one
T he subject of sherry has been a staple of wine writers for well over a decade. Typical articles will trot out the drink’s popular image – pre-World War II England, Harveys Bristol Cream and thimble-sized glasses – and attempt to overturn people’s clichéd preconceptions by banging on about how it’s actually one of the greatest, most underrated drinks in the wine world.
All true, but there’s a chance that the stereotypical, hackneyed sherry article may be an endangered species. Sherry, it seems, may actually be in vogue again, resurgent thanks to a new generation of drinkers with no memory of sticky, sickly cream sherry at Christmas – and a new wave of venues in which to indulge their new-found passion.
Where did it all start? Well, London has long had a few sherry hotspots where true sherry – bone-dry fino, salty manzanilla, rich oloroso and unctuous Pedro Ximénez – could be found.
The most obvious venues are Fino and Cambio de Tercio, where an understanding of the finer points of Andalusia’s greatest export is matched by the authenticity of the tapas-fuelled cuisine.
But there’s been a subtle shift in the past couple of years towards a more casual dining experience, where you’re as likely to sip a fino with a bowl of salted almonds as you are to commit to the full three courses or more.
It started small and in King’s Cross: if opening Bar Pepito as a specialist sherry experience was a risk, it was one qualified by it piggybacking on the success of the adjoining Camino restaurant, and by the commercial support of sherry giant Gonzalez Byass.
Renewed interest in Sherry is sparking innovation, one good example being the annual launch by sherry giant Gonzalez Byass of Tio Pepe En Rama
Another key to its success is its simple, unfussy and uninitimidating approach, with a list of fewer than 20 sherries and the use of tasting flights to help new consumers understand the wares.
The success of Pepito has spawned a number of similarly themed venues, such as Capote y Toros on Old Brompton Road, located a few doors from parent restaurant Cambio de Tercio; José in Bermondsey Street – the first individual venture of former Brindisa chef José Pizarro – and Moro spin-off Morito in Exmouth Market.
We should not, however, misunderstand this apparent sherry renaissance. Thankfully, we’re not returning to some sort of 1970s era of cheesy TV ads for Croft Original and Harveys Bristol Cream – this rediscovery of one of the world’s great wines is centred on the authentic styles and names you’ll find in every bar in the sherry heartland of Jerez de la Frontera or Sanlucar de Barrameda.
And it’s gathering momentum: renewed interest in sherry is sparking innovation in the sector, the most obvious example being the annual launch by sherry giant Gonzalez Byass of Tio Pepe En Rama.
You probably know Tio Pepe, a benchmark Fino sherry of mainstream appeal and excellent consistency, but this is a very different, edgier, more untamed beast: unfiltered, unclarified, taken from the middle of the cask for the ultimate in yeasty pungency and aromatic appeal.
It’s about as far away from the treacly, sub-standard cream sherries of yore as you can get – and, if it gives wine writers one less cliché to fall back on, so much the better.
Now let’s see… have I told you about Madeira lately?
Words: Staff
The Recommendations
Tio Pepe Fino En Rama(£14, widely available from wine merchants)
Aromatic to the point of pungency, ripe yeasty flavours drip from the glass – bread dough, freshly salted almonds and a zingy underlying acidity. An obvious match for shellfish, but big enough to stand up to chicken dishes and mature cheeses. Snap it up quick – this ephemeral sherry will start to fade once summer is out. No 32 La Bota de Manzanilla, Equipo Navazos
(£29.95, Berry Bros & Rudd)
From the heart of the port of Sanlucar de Barrameda, this gloriously saline take on the Fino is mysteriously pervaded by the tang of the Mediterranean. Again, shellfish is the obvious match, but this is better employed as the ultimate aperitif alongside olives and salted almonds. Osborne Sibarita Oloroso, 30 years old
(£24.50, The Wine Society):
Unctuous, voluptuous and powerfully aromatic, this is one of the finest dry Olorosos around and can stand up to meatier, spicier tapas dishes with ease. Or just sip on its own and delve into its multiple, complex layers of flavour. One of the wine world’s most ridiculously underpriced bargains. San Emilio Pedro Ximénez Solera Reserve Emilio Lustau
(£18.50, Corney & Barrow):
The colour of the darkest olive, ‘PX’ is an intensely sweet, raisined dessert wine. In the hands of a great company such as Lustau, it offers essence of figs, caramel and coffee bean. Yes, it’s sensational if, like a true Jerezano, you pour it over ice cream – but it’s really a dessert course on its own.