Friday 30 January 2015

30.1.15 Guía Peñín in Jerez

Last Wednesday and Thursday the tasting team from Spain’s most influential wine guide, Guía Peñín, were at the Consejo in Jerez to taste some 200 wines for the 2016 edition. The tasters always start their season in Jerez, perhaps as an aperitif.  Peñín director, Carlos González, who is a self-confessed Sherry fan had this to say: “The guide has never in its 26 year history awarded 100 points, but If any Spanish wine merits 100 points, it is Sherry”.

The team’s short visit to Jerez was enough to create a “very good impression” and they commented that Sherry adds dignity to the entire range of wines produced in Spain. They attributed the decline in sales to changes in fashion, and ignorance of such a special and very old drink which many don’t dare to approach. “Many think that Sherry is for connoisseurs but there are styles to suit everyone, and if someone wants to drink it as a cocktail or with a mixer that’s fine - so long as they drink it”.

The tasters at work at the Consejo (foto diario jerez)

This year’s tasting looked at not only the classics, but also new releases and special releases, “in particular Manzanilla pasada and Fino en rama which is now an established thing. We tasted what was recommended and I am certain that the Consejo is giving it its all, although later on  it is up to the marketing people to  transmit the goodness, quality and complexity of Sherry, which has never really been out of fashion”.

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