Description
This Fino is a clean, crisp expression of the El Maestro Sierra house style, showing elegant expression and balance. Aged on its lees for six years in Solera barrels, it was then bottled straight from barrel. It has the classic briny, salty, fresh notes of a good Fino underneath an appealing yeasty character. Served chilled in a small sherry glass, it's a fun way to start the evening, or as an ingredient in an innovative cocktail.
El Maestro Sierra is today one of the most respected and revered Sherry houses of Jerez. But it wasn't always that way. Jose Antonio Sierra founded the winery in 1832. He was a carpenter responsible for making most of the barrels used in the soleras of Jerez, but he always wanted to be an actual sherry producer, not just a supplier of the vessels that made sherry. Unfortunately for him, sherry houses were all run by the nobility, and they didn't take kindly to an upstart trying to get in on their territory. After years of struggle, he was finally able to grow his business some and establish himself as a leading Almacenista (stockholder of sherry soleras). He designed his label to depict his position—as a fox being chased in a hunt by noblemen on horseback. The house is run today by Pilar Pla Pechovierto, whose late husband was a direct descendant of Jose Antonio Sierra. Since El Maestro Sierra was never a large scale producer and historically didn't sell a lot of volume, their solera stocks are amongst the oldest and finest in Jerez.
