Williams & Humbert Collection 12 Year Old Oloroso Sherry

£12.70
Tasting notes
Vibrant amber colour. Intense, walnut, nutty like nose. Very dry, rich with hints of dried nuts and fruits. Very long finish. As an aperitif with mature cheese, at meals with red meats and even as an after-dinner drink.

Why we recommend this wine
We spent a week in Cadiz in the tapas bars (well, not the whole time, we also visited the bodegas) and loved this sherry to wind up the evening.

The wine
Olorosos sherry spends more than 12 years in the criaderas and soleras system. It is made from Palomino grapes and has 19° alcohol which is typical. The sherry develops in barrel without the protective flor layer. Ranging from rich amber to deep mahogany in colour, the darker the wine the longer it has been aged. Because they’ve seen so much oxidation during development, they are pretty stable and stay in good condition for a quite a while once the bottle is opened.

The wine estate
Bodegas Williams & Humbert was founded in 1877 by Sir Alexander Williams, a great admirer and connoisseur of sherry products, and Arthur Humbert, a specialist in international relations. The name is now used by the Medina family for all their sherry interests.
Bodegas Williams & Humbert own 250 hectares of vineyard in the Añina and Carrascal pagos or the vineyard zones where Palomino is the most traditional and predominant variety. It has been used for centuries since it arrived in the sixteenth century in the hands of Flemish troops. “Palomino fino”, the most commonly used clone is well adapted to the chalky Albariza soils and the local climate and is resistant to parasites when cultivated correctly.
Albariza soil has amazing ability to retain humidity. It is a soil of great porosity and lightness, something of great importance for the root system of the vine and for the accumulation of water in the form of humidity as would a sponge, without waterlogging or saturation. This Albariza soil has a high limestone content and has a low level of organic material, which means that full development of the vine is achieved simply by the correct application of fertilizer.
bodegas-williams-humbert.com

Food and wine
We love it after dinner with mature, hard cheeses that are not too sharp; manchego, comte, beaufort, etc. Also see our guide to pairing food and wine here. The ideal temperature at which to serve an Oloroso is at between 13 and 14ºC.

Did you know?
The Albariza soil is the white soil typical of the rolling hills of the Jerez Region. It is a soft rock formed by sediments amongst which can be found remains of diatomaceous earth, of organisms belonging to the siliceous plankton and others of the calcareous skeletal type from 60 million years ago when the whole of Andalucía was submerged under the waters of the Tethys Sea.