Making Sense of Sherry Styles
Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso, Palo Cortado—is there an easy way to make sense of the different styles? Yes!
First and foremost, think of Sherry styles as having two main style camps: Fino & Oloroso.
STYLES
- Fino Style: Fresh, zesty citrus and bready aromas and flavors with a crisp mouthfeel.
- Oloroso Style: Developing aromas and flavors of nuts and coffee, with a rich concentrated texture.
The next thing to know is how each Sherry is aged.
AGING
During the aging process, Fino Sherries are not exposed to oxygen. The technical term is called “biological aging,” and results from a thick, protective layer of yeasts called flor, which forms at the top of the aging Sherry. The layer of flor prevents oxygen from coming in contact with the Sherry, which in turn creates that fresh, zesty, citrusy profile.
These Sherries are exposed to oxygen during the aging process, called “oxidative aging,” which results in a style that includes developed aromas and flavors such as roasted nuts and coffee.
Some of the styles combine Fino & Oloroso characteristics, like Amontillado. For this style, biological aging is followed by oxidative aging. Here is a quick explanation of the process:
Here’s another visual to help make sense of Amontillado Sherry. Think of the style as somewhere in between the Fino and Oloroso styles:
FINO STYLE
AMONTILLADO STYLE
OLOROSO STYLE
Fino Style | Amontillado Style | Oloroso Style |
Fresh, zesty citrus character. | Nuts and coffee aromas and flavors will have an underlying zestiness from time in the Fino solera. | Tertiary aromas and flavors of nuts and coffee. |
FINO CAMP
Barrels (called butts) are partly-filled (allows oxygen on top of wine).A thick layer of flor forms on top of the wine, and the wine will be classified as a Fino. The flor acts as a protective layer against oxygen.
So that the flor can continue to thrive, when it comes time to fortify the wine, fortification is only up to 15 or 15.5% ABV.
If it is higher, the alcohol will kill off the flor, and the wine will lose its protective layer against oxygen.
Fresh, zesty citrus flavors result. But it doesn’t end there. While the wine itself is not in contact with oxygen, the layer of flor is. The flor feeds off of alcohol in the wine and oxygen at the top of the barrel, creating carbon dioxide and acetaldehyde, which adds Fino’s unique bready flavors (e.g., tangy rye bread).
OLOROSO CAMP
Barrels (called butts) are partly-filled (allows oxygen on top of wine).
The wine will be fortified to about 17% ABV so that flor will not develop (or will be killed off).
With exposure to oxygen, nutty, coffee, toffee aromas and flavors develop. With air exposure, the texture also becomes richer and more concentrated.