The wife and I have been through the sherry experience before, so we kind of knew what to expect. From that point it was a good tasting on the Saturday as we tried the sherrys from Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s, and Majestic, because aside from just seeing what we thought of sherry, we could compare and contrast a bit.
One of the big hang ups I guess people have about dry sherry is that it’s not as refreshing as you think it should be. The acidity gets to medium level at best. In the worst case scenario there’s a lingering bitter aftertaste. This was definitely the case with the Morrison’s Fino, although I have to say I really liked the honey roast peanut smell to it. 5/10.
It’s also said that the fruit character goes away, but when drunk side by side I felt the Sainsbury’s Fino had a touch of green apple fruit and a citrus finish to go with the almond nut smell. It was much less bitter, and on it’s own, although not too acidic, was very drinkable. 6/10.
I managed to find a bin end deal at Majestic and got hold of a bottle of Romate Fino for a fiver. This was a real result. Pale golden colour, honey and almond smell, and a touch of something tropical that we thought was passion fruit. The alcohol was also a lot more balanced, which can sometimes ruin Finos. 7/10.
The food choice went ok. I messed up a touch as I was struggling to find salt cod in time. I ended up with smoked cod and added a couple of pinches of salt. It was ok, but just needed a bit more seasoning to really lift it. But it gave the finos what they needed, and the bitterness was almost instantly taken away. With the food, I’ve got to add one point for each.
Last thing really was thinking about when to drink it. Is Fino really a dinner time drink? Well I had a bit left over so I took it with me to cricket on Sunday, and after the game I got a few of the lads to try some ice cold Fino in the lovely sunshine. The lads were a tad perplexed by a dry sherry, so I told them to read the bloody blog! But they actually took to it well, and I realized that as an afternoon glass, it’s actually really much better. No added points for the wines, but something to remember for me going forward.
From reading the comments on the blog and on twitter, it looks like it’s been a learning week for everyone! Good stuff!
Cheers
Other posts in NWTW Week 22
#NWTW Week 22: Fino Sherry from Jerez
#NWTW Week 22: Where’s Sherry From?
