I love Sherry. 

I can attribute this to starting at Salt Tasting Room almost three years ago, and having Canada’s largest Sherry list thrown in my lap.  When I did my wine education years ago, I just started to grasp the wonders of Sherry, only to quickly forget most of what I learned quite quickly, as Sherry has generally not been the most relevant thing in the restaurant wine world in recent history.  Having the opportunity to taste the various Finos, Manzanillas, Olorosos, Amontillados and PX’s as I re-educated myself opened up that mysterious world to me way more than my previous exposure and I became hooked.  A further opportunity to get my Sherry Certification from the Wine Academy Of Spain sealed the deal for me, filling in many gaps in my Sherry knowledge.  Since you’re reading this blog, you probably know a bit about wine, but if you need a brush-up or clarification, Wikipedia has a pretty decent Sherry entry.

One doesn’t automatically think of Australia when Sherry is mentioned, but there are a few notable Antipodean bottles around here and there.  Most are made tradtionally (solera system) and show true Sherry style.  When James Busby, known as the Father of the Australian Wine Industry, introduced France and Spanish varietal cuttings to Australia in the 1830′s,  he brought some Palomino & PX along for the ride.  There has been close to two centuries of work with these grapes Down Under, so it’s not like these ventures are easily dismissable.

On a recent trip to Marquis Wine Cellars, I picked up the Seppelt DP 38 Barossa Valley Oloroso 750ml for $28.  I was a little wary of it, having never tried Aussie Sherry before, but John Clerides and his staff are quite dependable and I trust their picks.

This is a funny one.  It looks like an Oloroso, bronze in colour and rich viscosity.  It certainly smells like an Oloroso - toffee, almonds, honey and such.  Technically the flavours match up with that as well, but all and all – it’s just a wee bit… harsh.  There’s a boldness that I almost found crass at first.  At the finish, there’s a tremendous amount of heat that I just can’t get over, it’s almost like sipping on a rich bourbon, with that strong lashing of butterscotch-y heat at the end.  A few sips more led to all those typical flavours and a slight mellowing, but it remains a little ‘loud’.  It’s actually quite enjoyable once you get used to the style, but it’s just a little shocking at first.  There price is certainly decent, and it does supply a nice body warmth, but it’s just not quite the traditional style.  Maybe it simply shouldn’t be anyways.  My wife was saying that it’s like comparing Pamela Anderson to Penelope Cruz.  Same biological make-up.  Very different outcome.

I’m looking forward to trying other Aussie styles of Sherry (I’m told that the Seppelt range is the best out there), to see how they fare against the Old World.  All in all, this is certainly the best ‘outside of Jerez’ Sherry I’ve had so far.  It’ll be interesting to see what else I can find.  Feel free to pass along any tips…