Jerez

Sherry is one of the world’s great wine traditions, originating in Andalusia, southern Spain. While winemaking here dates back more than two thousand years, the modern style of Sherry took shape during the 17th and 18th centuries, as the region’s wines became increasingly important in international trade.

The name Sherry comes from the English evolution of the medieval name for Jerez, Xerez, which became Sherris and eventually Sherry. The name reflects the city’s deep historical connection with the English wine trade. In Spain, the wine is called Jerez, after the city of Jerez de la Frontera, where the tradition has its historic roots

The D.O.P. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry covers the traditional Sherry region, whose historic heart is the Sherry Triangle: Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa María. The broader Andalusian tradition extends beyond the appellation: Montilla-Moriles in Córdoba shares many of the same styles and traditions, including Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso, flor, and long oxidative aging.

The principal grapes are Palomino, Pedro Ximénez, and Moscatel. The vineyards are strongly influenced by albariza, brilliant-white, calcium-rich soils formed from ancient marine sediments. Their ability to retain water, combined with the Atlantic climate, contributes to the freshness, tension, and sapidity of the wines.

Depending on the style, wines undergo biological aging under flor or oxidative aging without flor. Flor is a naturally occurring layer of yeast that protects the wine from oxidation while adding characteristic notes of almonds, chamomile, herbs, and fresh dough. Oxidative aging produces deeper flavors of nuts, dried fruit, leather, tobacco, and spices. Some of the greatest wines combine both forms of aging.

Many traditional Sherries are matured through the solera and criaderas system, a dynamic method of fractional blending that combines wines of different ages. However, vintage (añada) wines are also produced.

Principal styles

--FINO--
Dry, pale, and biologically aged under flor. Fresh, delicate, saline, and savory.

--MANZANILLA--
Produced exclusively in Sanlúcar de Barrameda and aged under flor. Particularly fresh, vibrant, delicate, and saline.

--AMONTILLADO--
Aged first under flor and then oxidatively. Combines the freshness of biological aging with the depth of oxidation. Dry, nutty, saline, and exceptionally complex.

--OLOROSO--
Aged oxidatively from the beginning, without flor. Rich, structured, dry, and intensely savory, with notes of walnuts, dried fruit, leather, tobacco, and spices.

--PALO CORTADO--
One of the rarest styles, combining the aromatic finesse of Amontillado with the richness and structure of Oloroso. Exceptionally complex and persistent.

--CREAM--
A sweet style, traditionally based on Oloroso blended with a naturally sweet wine such as Pedro Ximénez. Rich, velvety, and concentrated.

--PEDRO XIMÉNEZ--
An ancient white variety particularly associated with Córdoba and Montilla-Moriles. It can produce dry whites, unfortified Finos, oxidative wines, and naturally sweet wines. Sun-dried (asoleo) examples are intensely rich and concentrated.

--MOSCATEL--
An ancient, highly aromatic white variety capable of producing dry whites, sweet wines, and generoso styles, with characteristic notes of orange blossom, jasmine, citrus, honey, and dried fruit.

Sherry is far more than a single wine style: it is an extraordinary family of wines shaped by Atlantic climate, albariza soils, biological and oxidative aging, time, and centuries of Andalusian tradition. At its finest, it produces some of the world’s most complex, age-worthy, and distinctive wines.

Click on the different styles in the Sherry tab to explore the wines.