Lustau Rare Amontillado Escuadrilla

When sommeliers are challenged to find a single wine that will pair with diverse dishes, they often turn to one of Spain’s best kept secrets: Amontillado sherry. Amontillado’s versatility stems from winemakers crafting it using two different aging techniques.

Sherry winemakers use their best Palomino grapes for the Fino wines. Finos are pale straw colour wines that are aged biologically under a veil of ‘flor’ (yeasts native to the region). The flor imparts delicate yeasty flavours on the wine.

Grapes deemed unsuitable for Fino are crafted into Oloroso, which are aged for years in oak barrels without flor, so they are exposed to oxygen. As Oloroso ages, it turns a deep mahogany colour and develops flavours of dried fruits, leather, and tobacco.

Amontillado starts its life like a Fino under ‘flor’. But eventually the flor either dies or is intentionally killed when the wine is fortified. For the rest of its life, like Oloroso, it is aged oxidatively. The result is a uniquely complex wine that maintains flavours of lees and biscuit from the flor but also boasts notes of hazelnuts, toast, and caramel from the oxidation.

Amontillado wines are delicate enough to pair with lighter foods like fish and seafood but are also vigorous enough to eat alongside more robust cuisine like meatballs and pâté. In short, it is the one wine sommeliers serve confidently knowing it will pair with almost everything on the menu.

Lustau produces several Amontillado wines. A few bottles of Escuadrilla are still available at the LCBO -$22.95 for 375ml.