Amontillado
Sherry that started as fino, lost its flor partway through aging, and finished oxidatively. Amber-coloured, nutty, sits between fino's brightness and oloroso's weight.
Amontillado is the in-between style of dry sherry, born from a two-stage aging path. It starts life as a fino, aged under flor (the yeast layer that protects the wine from oxygen). At some point during the aging the flor dies or weakens, and the wine continues maturing in direct contact with oxygen, the way an oloroso does. The result combines the saline brightness of fino with the nutty depth of oloroso: amber to dark amber in colour, drier than people expect, with notes of hazelnut, dried fruit and old wood. Amontillado was historically rare and unintentional (it happened by accident in barrels); modern bodegas now produce it deliberately. Often the most complex sherry on a bodega's regular list, and the best food-pairing wine of the family.
How it's served
Slightly cool (13-14°C), in a regular wine glass (not the small copita used for fino). Pairs with mushrooms, aged cheeses, jamón ibérico, mature poultry, and almost any dish with brown caramelisation. Considered the most food-friendly sherry style.
Regional variation
The Jerez triangle (Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, El Puerto de Santa María) makes the canonical amontillados. The neighbouring DO Montilla-Moriles in Córdoba makes a similar wine; the style was actually named after Montilla because the aging pattern was first identified there. Modern bodegas often label very old amontillados as VOS (over 20 years average age) or VORS (over 30 years).
- Origin
- Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia
- Etymology
- Spanish for 'in the Montilla style,' a reference to the wines of Montilla-Moriles, where this aging pattern was first widely produced.
Frequently asked
What is amontillado sherry?
A dry sherry that started its aging life as fino (under a flor yeast layer) but lost the flor partway through, then finished aging oxidatively. The two-stage path gives it the saline brightness of fino combined with the nutty depth of oloroso. Amber-coloured, complex, drier than expected.
What's the difference between amontillado and oloroso?
Aging path. Amontillado started as a fino with flor, then lost the flor and continued oxidatively. Oloroso never had flor at all; it aged oxidatively from the start. Both end up amber and dry, but amontillado retains some of fino's saline character while oloroso is fully nutty and broad.
What food pairs with amontillado?
Mushrooms (especially earthy ones like ceps and morels), aged cheeses (Manchego, Idiazabal), jamón ibérico, mature poultry, almonds, oxtail. Amontillado is the most flexible sherry for food because it spans dry-and-bright to deep-and-nutty in one glass. Bring it to anything with brown caramelisation.
Related terms
- FinoDry, pale, bone-dry sherry aged under a protective layer of yeast called flor. The lightest end of the sherry family.
- OlorosoDry, amber-coloured sherry aged with full oxygen contact (no flor). Heavier, nuttier and more intense than fino.
- Sherry (Jerez)Fortified wine from the Jerez triangle in Andalusia. Comes in many styles, from bone-dry fino and manzanilla to amber oloroso to syrupy-sweet Pedro Ximénez.
- Palo CortadoThe rarest sherry style. Starts like a fino, loses its flor unexpectedly, and finishes oxidatively into a wine with the elegance of amontillado and the body of oloroso.