Question about sherry

I have a rare bottle of sherry that I bought at auction. I would like to share it with some other people, but due to geography and timing, it will not be all at the same time. I do not have a lot of experience with sherry. I know that if it were Madeira, I could save it for months after opening it and it would be fine. Can I treat sherry the same? How long will it last in a sealed bottle after opening? It is my impression that it will hold for along time, but I don’t really know.

I held a bottle of Alvear for 6 months under seal and refrigeration with no noticeable drop off.

I begin to notice small changes in the nose and the depth of flavor after about three weeks (sealed and refrigeration).

Don’t worry too much about it. We keep a magnum of Fino going in the fridge constantly, taking a glass or two when we want it, replacing as needed. It’s not rare or special, but I doubt your bottle is much more delicate.

Depends on the sherry Jay. I’m assuming that it’s an oxidized sherry because if it’s a fino one never knows and it’s not going to last once opened. But since an oxidized sherry is already oxidized, it can last a long time. I’ve had them open for a year and they’re still good at the end. I kept those in the fridge and tasted from time to time. My wife doesn’t like it so I only drink it occasionally. And when I was selling it, I showed a guy a bottle in November that I had opened in February. He bought it by the case. So I think you’re OK.

BTW, what is it?

It depends and knowing the bottle you’re talking about I really have no idea.

I’ve had some last for months in the fridge and others, notably some Gonzalez Byass anadas decline markedly by the next day,

When are you going to open it? I think there are almost daily fights to NY so lmk and I’ll clear my schedule and have a copita con vosotros. Sounds delicious!!!

Sarah, which Fino is it you keep on hand?

Generally speaking, if the Sherry is a Fino, Manzanilla, Palo Cortado or Amontillado I would try two consume it over a period of, at most, two weeks, keeping the bottle closed and refrigerated. When it comes to Oloroso or PX you can safely extend that period to about 1 year. One thing to take in consideration is that the higher the alcohol percentage (that means that more Brandy is in the mix), the longer an open bottle of Sherry should last without decaying.

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This.
I find that most Sherry degrades quickly.
Especially old stuff.

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+1

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Why Palo Cortado? Most Palo Cortados I’ve had have been rather noticeably oxidative in style and virtually indestructible. I find them like oxidative Amontillados - or then very similar to Olorosos but with noticeable aldehydic tang (which tends to be very limited in Olorosos).

But other than that, I fully agree with you. Non-oxidatively made Sherries don’t benefit from air and some En Rama Finos and Amontillados are very similar to many white wines - i.e. start to take hit only after a few days. Simple entry-level Finos and Amontillados seem to stay good for much longer, but probably because they don’t offer that much depth to begin with.

I opened it on Friday night. I drank a tiny bit with each course, recorked it after about 2-1/2 hours, brought it home, put it in the refrigerator, poured about 2 ounces into a tiny tasting bottle on Sunday morning, delivered it on Sunday at about 5:00 pm, and received a TN by email at 5:48 pm with three words . . . “It is magnificent!” So I guess it was OK.

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What’s the damned bottle man?

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I’ve found Palo Cortado to be, stylistically speaking, quiet diverse. I’ve tried both oxidative and non oxidative that behaves more like a white wine (Cota 45 Agostado comes to my mind as a slightly oxidative example of Palo Cortado). So when I making a recommendation based on a broad generalization I rather be on the safe side. When It comes to Amontillados I’ve also tried both styles as well, but in general I have to agree with you that most Palo Cortados can be described as an oxidative version of Amontillado.

You are killing me with this, now I’ll have to think my wines in terms of “aldehydic tang” [scratch.gif]

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1865 Gonzalez-Byass Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Coronation 1911. I gave Jay Miller about 2 ounces in a tasting bottle on Sunday because I knew he likes sherry and would appreciate it.

Makes perfect sense. I guess I’ve mainly tasted those upper-tier Palo Cortados (checked out that a few of them were at Dos Cortados level), which see significant aging. However, I think that the overall style of Palo Cortado is most often quite oxidative (well, by definition, it is sort of oxidative version of Amontillado) and while there definitely are some less oxidative Palo Cortados, the overall style tends to be more oxidative than Amontillado and some wines even getting quite close to Oloroso.

But yes, it’s always best to err on the side of caution.

Well, I find “aldehydic tang” or “tangy acetaldehyde” most accurate shorthands for Vins Jaunes, dry Szamorodnis, Sherries aged under flor, other sous-voile wines and, of course, wines that have elevated levels of acetaldehyde due to (wanted or unwanted) oxidation!

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I’m flying to NY tomorrow [wink.gif]

Bring the DRC and you get the 1865 Sherry and the 1908 Boal.

My friend Rudy K. is out of the country right now but I’ll see what can I do about that DRC