This note has been hanging around for a while, but this is a good budget priced fino to while away a few hours with.

Very pale in the glass, you could almost confuse it for water. The nose is full of healthy flor character, green apples and a hint of salty nuts.  Fairly basic in the mouth, fresh apple and roasted almonds with zingy acid and .  Fresh and light, it’s a fun drink with plenty to offer at this price point. 86 Pts. 

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $17 Closure: Cork Stopper

Web: www.gonzalezbyass.com

Notes of almonds and ground oats, plenty of flor character and a little vanilla essence. Soft and round in the mouth with plenty of salty tang. Almonds and apples with an old wood note and a touch of citrus peel. A fairly complex little number, but not the freshness that I crave from manzanilla. 88 Pts.

Source: Bibendum Wine Co. Price: $15 (375 ml) Closure: Screwcap

Web: www.argueso.es

Very pale in the glass, with the lightest bit of gold tint. Aromas of fresh apple and white field flowers with some yeasty flor character mixed in. In the mouth it’s fairly straight forward, but that bright fresh quality carries it off. Almonds and yeasty flor, a bit of apple and a sage/wintergreen note on the long finish. A great introduction to the style if you’re a bit sheepish about getting into manzanilla or a refreshing summer drink if you’re already a convert.  88 Pts.

Source: Bibendum Wine Co. Price: $14 (375 ml) Closure: Screwcap

Web: www.argueso.es

A fairly full and slightly sweet on nose with walnuts, vanilla, varnish, mixed peel and generally crushed, mixed nuts. Luxurious in the mouth, dry with good texture and balance. It finishes a bit short, but enjoyable none the less. Cashews and walnuts, Christmas spices and woody notes.  A good showing and plenty of value at this price point. 90 Pts.

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $30 (750ml) Closure: Cork Stopper

Web: www.gonzalezbyass.com

Winter is the perfect time to get stuck into some desserts, and of course you’ll need something to drink with it. PX and chocolate pudding is a classic match, but it also goes excellently with a cheese plate. If I have any left over in summer, I put some in a banana smoothie. It’s not exactly health food, but it tastes great.

A bucket full of squashed raisins on the nose, with some smoke and wood notes, some cinnamon and nutmeg for added complexity. It has the texture of light oil in the mouth, which I quite like, the finish is long and lingering. This one is fairly sweet, as you would expect, with the flavour of a liquid version of rum and raisin ice cream. Not too cloying and there is a slight note of mint on the finish. Mucho yummy. 90 Pts.

A nose of Christmas cake, vanilla and wood, with some medicinal herbs. Initially there is a burst of sweetness, but this quickly moves on a very savoury, dry palate. Roasted almonds and a kind of pop corn flavour with orange peel and a light mocha note. Intriguing wine, there is quite a lot going on here but that long warm nutty finish almost makes you not worry about it. 91 Pts.

Notes of cedery wood and walnuts with hints of old leather. I’d like to say sweet fruit as well, but its more orange peel and spice. Plenty of great old wood character with some varnishy tobaccaco notes, and walnuts on the palate. I rarely talk about tannins in sherry, but this has very soft tannins on the very long finish. It’s quite full on, but very dry and flavoursome. 92 Pts.

A really enticing nose of wood and nuts, with a touch of raisin, coco powder and nutmeg. Creamy and intense in the mouth with notes of hot chocolate, dried fruit, hot cinnamon, orange peel and nice wood. Plenty of length here, with a warm, nutty finish. A real winner with a hunk of Queso Mahon on a cold night. 90 Pts.

Notes of dried fruit, mostly raisins, and wood with an almost malty, floral note. Quite nice really. But in the mouth it doesn’t follow through to the same extent. A burst of raisins and nuts on entry but it’s all too short. Viscus and kind of creamy in the mouth with some warmth on the finish. At this price you can’t really complain and Nana would love a sneaky bottle behind the cooking oil. 85 Pts.

A nose of sweet, robust wood and walnuts with a hint of raisins. The palate is a odd, a mild level of sweet raisins, but then a hit of savoury nuts and old oak, a bit of coco too. A short finish showing a bit of alcohol heat, but its smooth from start to finish. It’s well made, and the nose is OK, but it just doesn’t come together as a drink. 80 Pts.

Oloroso Dulce is a blend of Oloroso and PX (ala cream sherry), it’s not one of my favourite styles but this does a convincing job.

Notes of dried dates, currants and raisins with some walnut and old oak character. It’s off dry in the mouth, not a sweet monster, with plenty of walnut oak, raisin, and toasty character in the mouth. Very smooth with extreme length and a welcome touch of warmth. There is a sweet/savoury thing going on that I like. Perfect for the cheese course. 91 Pts.

I got home last night and decided that a bit of cooked up chorizo and some mushrooms in cream and garlic was the menu for dinner. The mushrooms need a splash of sherry or wine, so what better excuse to open a bottle. Plus I have some Tio Pepe copitas I bought back from Spain years ago, so Tio Pepe was the drink of choice…

Very pale in colour (don’t believe the picture, photoshop has tinted the colour a bit darker when I converted from RAW to JPEG) with a fine nose of apples, a touch of lemon and orange peel,  almonds and light flor character. Long and lively in the mouth with plenty of nuts, a shake of salt and orange peel. Balanced with crisp acidity. Not as precise and harmonious as my last bottle, but still a great fino. 90 Pts

Just a quick note today, I've got a load of painting to finish off before the end of the week. I'm mainly a fino/manzanilla guy, but I do enjoy a bit of older sherry action from time to time. Amontillado is a handy style as it goes well with cheese and is great with soup to start off a meal. 

In the glass its the colour of molasses. Fresh and vibrant nose of crushed almonds and peacans, coffee, and a touch of orange rind. In the mouth its savoury and mouth coating, but balanced by the acid and a touch of heat. Good length with an orange and coffee twist. Goes well with a wedge of hard cheese.  90 Pts.

Source: Boccaccio Cellars Price: $19 (375ml) Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.emilio-lustau.com

Its good summer's day in Melbourne today, not too hot, but sunny.  Perfect for fino.  Well any day is a good day for sherry really.  So out came the olives, jamon, white anchovies and a bottle of fino for lunch today.  Now this is living… 

Almonds, apples, honeysuckle, orange blossom, and yeasty flor character.  Tangy and fresh in the mouth with a slice of acid that really cleans the palate.  A lingering finish with sea spray and anise.  Almonds, tangy flor and a touch a anise and lemon peel on the palate.  Great with snacky cured meats and fish.  92 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $30 (750ml) Closure: Cork Stopper

Web: www.romate.com

The La Sacristia reference in the name refers to the inner sanctum of the bodega that holds the oldest and most treasured sherries.  For a long time this was the domain of the bodega owners, their trusted staff and the odd celebrity or official passing though Jerez.  Some of the bodegas now sell some of this wine off in very small quantities.  As you can imagine, these are not cheap wines, but in terms of world wine values they are outstanding.

Dark red amber in colour.  Really refined on the nose, sure there is the customary raisins, but its the perfect level mixed in with old wood, orange peel, almond and a hint of cinnamon.  Surprisingly fresh and vibrant in the mouth, just stunning balance of all of the elements. Sweet, but restrained in the mouth with raisins, toffee, orange peel and some cinnamon on the monster finish.  If you couldn't tell, I like this a lot.   96 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $75 (500ml) Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.romate.com