NB.: Any prices, vintage ratings and drinkability expressed are those current at the time this article was published, and may have changed in the meantime. This article is Copyright ©

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JR's notes:

This was published in DECANTER magazine in July 1999 as a pull-out box to illustrate a travel article about the Sherry country by somebody else, can't remember whom. However, the then editor Susan Keevil asked me for my 'top ten' Sherries but I couldn't whittle it down to that so I cheated, as you'll see. The DECANTER website is at www.decanter.com

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SHERRY - A 'TOP TEN' (THERE ARE OTHERS..)

I enjoy so many wines from Jerez that I've simply picked out ten of the best, one for each category. There are many more, but all of these have given me the greatest pleasure over the years, and each stands out in its own way from amongst its peers.

1. Manzanilla: La Gitana, Hidalgo - lovely, fresh, packed with yeasty flor flavours and absolutely spiffing as an aperitivo or with anything fishy.

2. Manzanilla Pasada: La Guita, Rainera Perez Marin - a bolder, older style with some maturity and a delicious, savoury finish.

3. Manzanilla Amontillada: Lustau Almacenista (Manuel Cuevas Jurado) - it's rare for a Manzanilla to be aged to this level 'at home' but this is worth seeking out. Fine, delicate and mature yet still crisp and fresh. A masterpiece.

4. Fino: Inocente, Valdespino - traditional Fino at 17% abv for the export market 'because it will still be fresh when the low-strength wines have faded' according to Miguel Valdespino. Powerful, fresh, flor-flavoured and finely-tuned: I believe him.

5. Amontillado-Fino: Viña AB, González Byass - powerful, smoky, elegant old Fino, This is an old-fashioned style of wine not popular at the moment (and all the better for that, say I).

6. Amontillado: Del Duque, González Byass - a bone-dry, blockbusting wine of tremendous aroma and pungency, hinting at fine finos past and long, mellow futures.

7. Palo Cortado: Lustau Almacenista (Vides) - quite simply a wine of astonishing complexity, richness and character with a completely dry finish. Rare and expensive, but who cares?

8. Oloroso: Apóstoles, González Byass - enormous richness in a completely dry wine, with the most aromatic and generous nose imaginable. Superb.

9. Oloroso Dulce: Matúsalem, González Byass - fabulously rich, powerful, generous and sweet, perfectly 'married', with a warmth persisting for ever

10. PX - Candado Pedro Ximénez, Manuel de Argüeso - as black as Othello, as rich as Crœsus, as strong as Samson and as sweet as Shirley Temple. Stand a spoon up in it, pour it on to real dairy ice-cream, but don't waste it on the unappreciative!

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