Aldi Exquisite Collection Fino Sherry

If you’re a fino fan you’ll love this classic super-dry, tangy sherry - one of three incredibly well-priced sherries Aldi has released in its Exquisite Collection range at just £5.99 for 50cl. (The others are an amontillado and a cream sherry - both good too but slightly sweeter than the classic Spanish style)

Apparently they’re a seasonal line so won’t be a permanent fixture* although I guess they’re just putting a toe in the water to see how they’ll go. Majestic interestingly has been reporting a big increase in sherry sales this year.

The advantage of the fino being a limited edition is that it is still super-fresh - and should be kept so. Pop it into the fridge and drink it up within the week - which shouldn’t be hard! And pair it with some good iberico ham.

For more fino sherry pairing suggestions see

The best pairings for fino and manzanilla sherry

Download the ebook!

If you love sherry but haven't got beyond sipping it with a few nuts and olives, then download my e-book, 101 great ways to enjoy sherry, packed full of pairings, recipes, cocktails, and more. Click here to download.

* they also don't seem to be available online

Hidalgo Oloroso Faraon 30 y.o. sherry

Just over a month ago I was sitting with Javier Hidalgo in his cellar in Sanlucar sipping very old oloroso sherry from the cask, an experience that will go down as one of my great wine-tasting memories. This week I got to try the bottled version, the Bodegas Hidalgo Oloroso Faraon 30 y.o., which is equally thrilling.

It’s a dry oloroso - deep, rich and complex with a really intense flavour of grilled nuts but an astonishingly fresh acidity - one of the most delicious sherries I’ve tasted.

It was boldly matched at the lunch I went to with two meat dishes - duck breast with mash and red cabbage and a venison, pancetta and mushroom pie. I thought it would pair best with the pie but initially it worked better with the duck breast - due I swiftly realised to the sharp/sweet notes of the red cabbage. When I tried the cabbage with the pie too it was perfect. An unlikely match but a brilliant one.

The name of the sherry, Faraon, refers to the Spanish name for the head of a family of gypsies - just as La Gitana, Hidalgo’s popular manzanilla, refers to a gypsy girl.

The bad news is that it’s not cheap - which is absolutely right given the provenance and its age, just a bit of a downer for cash-strapped sherryholics like me. The best price I could find it for was £49.75 (for a 50cl bottle) at thedrinkshop.com though you'll obviously have to pay postage on that. Better to buy a single bottle off the shelf if you can - branches of Cambridge Wine Merchants have it for £54, Harrogate Fine Wine Company for £54.99 and Nickolls & Perks of Stourbridge for £55.85. Or you can buy it from Tesco - Tesco - for £41 a bottle if you're prepared to buy a six bottle case.

if you have oloroso cravings without a VORS budget I was hoping to be able to recommend the cheaper Faraon oloroso as an alternative to you which is around £15.99 a bottle but it’s just not in the same league. But take advantage of M & S’s current 25% off across their wine range (until March 4th) to snap up a few bottles of their Dry Old Oloroso which is made for them by another great producer, Lustau. It’s a great deal at £7.49 but a steal at £5.62.