For The Love Of Port

I saw a Decanter.com Poll:

Is Port the most undervalued fortified wine?

Yes, it's a great wine that deserves more attention
46%
No, its glory days are long gone
16%
No, what about Sherry?
38%

What do you think? As much as I love port, Sherry is quite undervalued...

I don't really know anything about sherry, but I have noticed that it seems awfully cheap even for older stuff. So if it has the complexity of flavor and bouquet to rival Port, it would certainly seem to be more undervalued.

Glenn E. wrote:I don't really know anything about sherry, but I have noticed that it seems awfully cheap even for older stuff. So if it has the complexity of flavor and bouquet to rival Port, it would certainly seem to be more undervalued.

Sherry really pushes the oxidized and acidic wines to the max. I can see why many do not have the taste for it, but I love it. Finding vintage sherry is a little difficult as most stuff does not have an age on it or is just Solera.

I'd suggest Lustau's Don Nuno is a good start. Not expensive and an awesome value.

Glenn,

Don't be fooled by dates like the Osborne's 1827 PX Sherry. It is easy to be fooled by those $15 Solera PX's.

I like Sherry but have enough of the ones I care to drink and won't be buying more. I would much rather put my money into Port and Madeira. I "get" Sherry and even great old Malaga of which I used to own quite a bit. Nowadays, I stick to Oloroso and Pedro Ximinez and may an occasional Amontillado. I have never been a fan of Fino, although I love dry Sercial so it is not that.

Anyway, yes Sherry is a fine value and a well made wine, but compared to the nuances of Port and Madeira, it does not bring me the same amount of sheer joy and palate pleasure.

Interesting results of the poll though ... but if anywhere in the world you'd get a heavier Sherry population it would be Decanter (UK-based) and although Port still was the winner, the Brits do like Sherry alot more than America, where it has not been really popular in the past five decades. As proof of my last statement, have a look through auction catalogues in the USA.