Amontillado: The Dry Sherry Aged Under Flor, Then Oxidatively

The pliego de condiciones of the DOP Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, consolidated by the Orden of 13 May 2026, defines Amontillado as a wine whose ageing includes a first phase of biological ageing followed by a phase of oxidative ageing. The Consejo Regulador describes the first stage as taking place, as with Fino and Manzanilla, under a film of flor, with these early years in the criaderas giving the wine a sharp, pungent note. At a given moment the flor begins to disappear, giving way to a second stage of oxidative ageing that gradually darkens the wine and enhances its concentration and complexity. According to the Consejo, wines classified for ageing as finos and manzanillas are fortified to 15% vol, a strength that lets the yeast form the flor, while above 17% vol biological activity cannot be sustained and not even flor yeast can survive. The Consejo also notes that after an average of seven or eight years, depending on the microclimate of the bodega, the yeast grows weak, having consumed practically all the nutrients in the wine, and can no longer protect it from the oxygen in the surrounding air. Once in direct contact with air, the wine undergoes a slow process of oxidation, seen in the gradual darkening of its colour.

• Stage one: biological ageing under flor; the Consejo Regulador says wines destined for flor are fortified to 15% vol
• Stage two: oxidative ageing once the flor disappears; the Consejo states that above 17% vol not even flor yeast can survive
• Flor's natural limit: after an average of seven or eight years the yeast grows weak, per the Consejo Regulador
• The balance between the phases shapes the style: the Consejo says wines aged longer under flor are paler, with very sharp notes and faint memories of yeast, while in others the spice and wood of oxidative ageing predominate

Amontillado is one of the vinos generosos of the DOP Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, whose delimited zone the pliego (2026) sets across the municipalities of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Trebujena, Chipiona, Rota, Puerto Real, Chiclana de la Frontera, Lebrija and San José del Valle. The Consejo Regulador notes that Lebrija belongs to the province of Seville. Decanter reported on 13 September 2021 that the Consejo had approved changes ending the iconic Sherry Triangle: until then the maturation of Sherry was restricted to Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María, and going forward Sherry can be aged throughout the entire production zone. The pliego describes the predominant soil, albariza, as a soft white marl that is easy to work and highly moisture-retentive, with calcium carbonate normally in concentrations of at least 25% and up to 40%, alongside clay and silica. The Consejo Regulador describes two prevailing winds: the Poniente from the west, cool and humid, and the Levante from the south-east, hot and dry. The zone is divided into pagos, and Annex 2 of the pliego lists Macharnudo Alto, Macharnudo Bajo, Añina and Balbaína Alta among the pagos of Jerez de la Frontera.

• The Consejo Regulador states that the first Spanish Wine Law, published in 1933, referred to the Denomination of Origin Jerez and its Consejo Regulador, the first to be legally constituted in Spain; Decanter (Sarah Jane Evans MW, 2019) likewise describes the Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Consejo as the oldest in Spain, established in 1933
• Albariza: calcium carbonate normally at least 25% and up to 40%, with clay and silica (pliego, 2026)
• Winds: the Poniente is cool and humid (humidity levels can reach ninety-five percent) and the Levante hot and dry (around thirty percent), per the Consejo Regulador
• Pagos of Jerez de la Frontera listed in Annex 2 of the pliego include Macharnudo Alto, Macharnudo Bajo, Añina and Balbaína Alta

The pliego allows Sherry to be aged either in the criaderas y solera system or as añadas. It defines criaderas y solera as a traditional, dynamic system of periodic extractions, or sacas, from each butt in a scale of homogeneous age, replaced through rocíos with wine from a younger scale; the solera is the final scale, from which wine is drawn for shipment, and the criaderas are the intermediate scales. The Consejo Regulador explains that the tier containing the oldest wine sits at floor level, the term solera deriving from suelo, the Spanish word for floor. The average age of a solera wine is calculated by dividing the total volume of wine in the system by the volume extracted from the solera each year, and the Consejo requires that proportion to be greater than two so that no Sherry reaches the market with less than two years of ageing. The pliego requires ageing in oak butts of no more than 1,000 litres, and the Consejo says the preferred and most widely employed type is the 600 litre American oak butt. For long-aged wines, the Consejo Regulador created two categories of certified age in 2000: V.O.S. (Vinum Optimum Signatum, Very Old Sherry) for Sherry over 20 years old and V.O.R.S. (Vinum Optimum Rare Signatum, Very Old Rare Sherry) for Sherry over 30 years old. Certification is granted to each individual saca after assessment by an independent Tasting Committee, and a certified-age wine must be an Amontillado, Oloroso (sweet or dry), Palo Cortado or Pedro Ximénez. The Consejo also certifies Sherries with an average age of 12 and 15 years.

• Criaderas y solera: periodic sacas from each scale, refilled through rocíos from the next younger scale (pliego, 2026)
• Average age equals total volume in the system divided by annual extraction; the Consejo Regulador requires this proportion to be greater than two
• V.O.S.: over 20 years; V.O.R.S.: over 30 years; both created by the Consejo Regulador in 2000 and certified saca by saca
• Sugar: the pliego (2026) sets 4 g/L or less for Amontillado, while a Medium, made from vinos generosos, carries 4 g/L or more and under 115 g/L

The Consejo Regulador describes Amontillado as ranging from pale topaz to amber in colour, with a subtle, delicate bouquet on an ethereal base, aromas of hazelnut and plants, and reminders of aromatic herbs and dark tobacco. On the palate it calls the wine light and smooth, with well-balanced acidity, a dry finish and a lingering aftertaste with a hint of nuts and wood. The pliego's organoleptic description sets tones from pale gold to amber, aromas of nuts and/or vegetal notes along with wine-seasoned noble woods, and a dry, balanced flavour that may be slightly acidic. The Consejo's glossary describes an amber to mahogany colour and slightly pungent hazelnut aromas. Style depends on the balance of the two phases: the Consejo notes that some Amontillados are paler, with very sharp notes and faint memories of yeast from longer ageing under flor, while in others the spice and wood of oxidative ageing predominate. The Consejo also explains that the butt loses water through its walls, an evaporation known as merma that accounts for losses of 3 to 5 percent a year, so the wine's other components are continually concentrated, which shows in the increased alcoholic strength of wines aged without flor.

• Colour: pale topaz to amber (Consejo Regulador); pale gold to amber (pliego); amber to mahogany (Consejo glossary)
• Aromas: hazelnut and plants, reminiscent of aromatic herbs and dark tobacco, per the Consejo Regulador
• Analytics on the Consejo's Amontillado page: total acidity 4 to 6 g/L (tartaric), volatile acidity under 0.8 g/L, glycerine 3 to 5 g/L
• Style spectrum: paler and sharper with longer flor influence; spice and wood where oxidative ageing predominates

The Consejo Regulador recommends serving Amontillado at between 12 and 14 degrees Celsius in a white wine glass, and its serving guide suggests approximately 15 degrees for VOS and VORS wines. The Consejo does not recommend the small copita, saying it does not allow the wine to fully express itself, and prefers a good quality generic white wine glass with a generous bowl. Unlike other wines, Sherry bottles should be stored upright to reduce the surface exposed to oxidation, in a dark, quiet place free of temperature fluctuations or vibrations. For wines other than Fino and Manzanilla, the Consejo's guideline is up to 3 years in a closed bottle and up to 2 months once opened, tightly corked in the refrigerator; its Amontillado page adds that the wine can be stored in open bottles for months. At the table, the Consejo pairs Amontillado with soups and consommés, white meat, blue fish (tuna), wild mushrooms and semi-cured cheeses, and with vegetables such as asparagus and artichokes.

• Serving temperature: 12 to 14 degrees Celsius; VOS and VORS approximately 15 degrees (Consejo Regulador)
• Glass: a generous white wine glass rather than the small copita, per the Consejo Regulador
• Storage: upright; once opened, up to 2 months tightly corked in the refrigerator for wines other than Fino and Manzanilla (Consejo guideline)
• Pairings from the Consejo Regulador: soups and consommés, white meat, tuna, wild mushrooms, semi-cured cheeses, asparagus and artichokes

The Consejo Regulador traces the first rules governing the Denomination of Origin to the Regulations of the Guild of Raisin and Grape Harvesters of Jerez, established on 12 August 1483, and says the solera and criadera system, bodega architecture and Jerez wines as known today began to take on their distinct characteristics in the late 18th century. In 1894 phylloxera arrived in the Sherry region, according to the Consejo. Several bodegas publish their own Amontillado details. González Byass's technical sheet for Viña AB describes a wine that begins life as Tío Pepe, is fortified to 15.5% alcohol, remains a minimum of 4 years under flor and then a further 8 years in the Viña AB solera, and is bottled at 16.5% vol. Bodegas José Estévez describes Valdespino's Tío Diego as a single-vineyard Amontillado from Viña Valdespino in the Pago de Macharnudo Alto, aged biologically for its first 10 years and oxidatively for its last 7, reaching 18 degrees. Lustau describes its Los Arcos Amontillado as aged for equal periods under flor and in contact with oxygen in Bodega Emperatriz Eugenia in Jerez de la Frontera.

• 1483: the Regulations of the Guild of Raisin and Grape Harvesters of Jerez, the first rules governing the Denomination, per the Consejo Regulador
• Late 18th century: the solera and criadera system began to take on its distinct characteristics (Consejo Regulador)
• Viña AB (González Byass): an average of 12 years in American oak casks, per the producer's technical sheet
• Tío Diego (Valdespino) comes from Pago Macharnudo Alto, and Los Arcos (Lustau) is aged in Jerez de la Frontera, per the producers' own sites

Primary sources: https://www.sherry.wine/documents/597/21052026_Pliego_Jerez_1wBQg8y.pdf, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/dry-sherry-wines/amontillado, https://www.mapa.gob.es/es/alimentacion/temas/calidad-diferenciada/dop-igp/detalle/vcprd/dop_jerez, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/production/ageing, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/special-categories, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/production/viticulture, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/production/fortification, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-region/sherry-wine-region, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-region/history-of-sherry, https://www.sherry.wine/enjoying-sherry/conservation-serving, https://www.sherry.wine/professionals/glossary, https://www.gonzalezbyass.com/sites/www.gonzalezbyass.com/files/2025-10/Vin%CC%83aAB-ENG.pdf, https://www.grupoestevez.com/tienda/tiodiego/, https://lustau.es/en/coleccion/sherry-wines,solera-familiar-en/amontillado-los-arcos/. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/learn/know-your-sherry-279407/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/sherry-do-regulations-to-see-historical-changes-464747/. Last verified 2026-09-28