Sherry Tasting and Tour at Bodegas Tradición
Touring with Bodegas Tradición was the highlight of our day trip to Jerez.
There are a lot of huge sherry houses/producers in Jerez, but all sherries are not created equal and I generally tend to stay away from the mass produced and more historically popular cream sherry producers (such as Harvey’s Bristol cream and the like).
For me, sherry has never been a particular favorite. Even after fifteen years in the wine industry-tasting and learning and studying all types of alcohol and spirits. I’ve always been much more of a wine (without spirits added) type of person.
However, at Bodegas Tradicion I found the sherry I’d be happy to have a bottle of at home. Their sherries are balanced, nuanced, elegant…. and well.. downright STUNNING! And, if it’s not enough that these were the best sherries I tasted in Jerez, and perhaps ever, Bodegas Tradicion also offers the opportunity to view their private gallery filled with Spanish art from the 15th-20th century (including paintings by Goya and Velázquez) before your tour and tasting in their cellars.
Bodegas Tradicion make six sherries:
Fino- 100% Palomino Fino, aged for over a decade under the flor (flor= a thin layer of yeast indigenous to Southern Spain that forms over the wine and protects it from air-resulting in characters unique to sherry wines aged this way) in American oak barrels.
Palo Cortado VORS-100% Palomino Fino. Aged over decades (32 years) in American oak barrels, using the Solera system (a complex aging system involving layering barrels on top of each other by age and doing fractional blending layer by layer-too much to go into here-follow the link).
Amontillado– 100% Palomino Fino. Aged for decades (45 years) under the flor and in American oak barrels before entering the solera system. Dry, nutty and yeasty this pairs per
Oloroso VORS– 100% Palomino Fino. 50 years age, ages in the Solera system in American oak barrels. Spiced and nutty with vanilla and butterscotch. Dry with a smooth as silk mouth feel and balance. Beautiful.
Cream VOS– 50% Palomino fino 70% – Pedro Ximénez 30% – not your average cream sherry. There is no cloying sweetness and it’s excellently balanced. Just the right blend of young Pedro Ximenez with their nutty aged Oloroso.
Pedro Ximenez VOS-aged 22 years, Pedro Ximénez 100%. Yes it’s sweet! But also very well done and not cloying. It’s great with a bitter dark chocolate (80%) or dried fruits and cheese.
I highly recommend making a visit to this Bodega and picking up a bottle to enjoy on your trip, if you are in Jerez!