Manzanilla Sherry

Having just spent two and a half hours cleaning the oven, I felt it was time for a little constitutional.

After the weekend's overindulgence, I decided that wine wouldn't be a good idea. If opened, it wouldn't keep and before you know it ... another bottle is packed away. Well, it would be rude to leave just half a bottle.

Looking around the room and what do I see? A cute birthday present - a tapas soiree kit including a bottle of Manzanilla sherry.

So here we go:

Solear / Manzanilla / Andalucia, Southern Spain / 15% / Produced by Barbadillo

Um ... it has to be served chilled - it is, tick. It is pale in colour, toasty on the ol nose but I'm not getting much else (damn that lime scented candle). Palate-wise ... fuck, it is EXTRA dry (definitely a taste of Spain) and it does something a little bit odd to the front of the tongue. I have absolutely no idea what flavour I'm getting from this bad boy, maybe yeast? It is suprisingly short in length; the flavour is fuller on the finish and yet non-descript.

Now, let's be honest, it is harsh and would probably only be suitable to drink with olives. Ah, so that's why it appears in a tapas soiree kit. Needless to say, I think I'm going to struggle to neck this one.

Just checked the gurus guide and apparently with Manzanilla there is a distinctive taste of iodine. I have no idea what iodine should taste like.

This is a low scoring 4 out of ten ...