Tasting fortified wines in a double blind scenario for an exam presents its own unique set of challenges. But as with tasting still table wines, focusing on color, age and/or the level of oxidation, the use of oak, and method of production are key to being able to identify the style of wine. That in mind, here are keys for tasting practice with fortified wines.

To begin, be mindful of your sensitivity to alcohol. That may seem obvious, but with high alcohol wines like Port and Madeira, it’s important to be able to tell the difference between a wine at 15% and one at 18% or higher. The first could mean a Fino Sherry while the other a Verdelho Madeira.

The right glassware is also important. If you’re taking an exam, you’ll have to deal with whatever glassware is provided. But when practicing tasting fortified wines, be sure that your glassware is not too small. I find that a medium-sized egg-shaped glass like the Riedel Vinum red wine glass or the Vinum Zinfandel/Sangiovese glass work best. However, do some R & D and find out what glass works best for you.

Smelling technique matters: for most, high alcohol wines can quickly overwhelm the sense of smell. Several suggestions:

  • When smelling a fortified wine, pull your nose out of the glass by one quarter to half an inch.
  • Use gentle sniffs to smell the wine. Anything more and high alcohol will dominate the experience.
  • Take frequent breaks away from the glass. And when you do take a break, look up, to the side, or anywhere else but where you’ve been looking when smelling the wine. The idea here has to do with vertical and lateral eye movements, brain function, and sense memory. Looking somewhere else between bouts of smelling the wine is a pattern interrupt and makes it easier to focus once you get back to the wine.
  • Try active inhalation vs. passive inhalation. These are my terms. The latter means smelling wine the way most people do, as in using the nose alone. Active inhalation, again my term, is done with one’s mouth open at least one quarter inch, and smelling through mouth and nose at the same time. The strategy uses ortho-nasal and retro-nasal in tandem to smell the wine. For more information, see Chapter 2 of my book, Message in the Bottle: A Guide to Tasting Wine.
  • Try smelling the wine with the glass at varying distances from your face. I remember going to a Remy Martin master class many years ago and the master blender from the house saying to start smelling the brandies with the glass over a foot away from one’s face. Then, in increments, moving the glass closer until one’s nose was actually in the glass. By the way, he was also the one who suggested smelling wines and spirits using the mouth and nose at the same time. Kudos to him.

Keys for tasting fortified wines

When I taste table wines, I’m keying in on a certain set of non-fruit aromas and flavors called “impact compounds.” I’m also trying to be precise as I can in assessing the structure of the wine, and connecting it to the ripeness/character of the fruit. Tasting fortified wines is similar—but different at the same time. More than anything, I’m focusing on the level of oxidation, the alcohol level (as mentioned), and the production methods used to make the wine. The latter can be the most important factor in identifying at least the category of the wine. With that, here are important aspects of fortified wines to consider:

  • Fresh vs. oxidative styles: Fino Sherry vs. Oloroso Sherry
  • Alcohol levels: Muscat de Beaumes de Venise (15%) vs. Sercial Madeira (18%)
  • Presence of residual sugar: Sercial Madeira (dry) vs. Malmsey Madeira (sweet)
  • Identifiable grape variety: Muscat de Beaumes de Venise (terpenes) and Banyuls (rotundone)
  • Use of oak—or not: Muscat de Beaumes de Venise (unoaked) vs. 20-year Tawny Port
  • Winemaking techniques: Fino Sherry (presence of flor) vs. Malmsey Madeira (Madeirization and oxidation)

Following are thoughts on tasting the different categories of fortified wines.

Sherry

The important keys in the Sherry category have to do with winemaking and aging. Specifically, the presence of flor, and the solera system of aging and resulting level of oxidation—or lack thereof. Otherwise, to note that there are general styles of Sherry.

  • Fresher styles: wines aged under flor including Fino and Manzanilla. Key on color, alcohol level (15%), and aldehydes; literally, the smell of Sherry, which is described as “nutty” or “bruised apple.”
  • Oxidative styles: Oloroso wines or variations thereof that didn’t develop flor, were re-fortified to 18%, and aged in the solera. Usually, the wines are deeper in color, dry, and have an oxidative character. Look for rancio/fruitcake-like notes, but with still the aldehydic character. Also note that some styles like Cream Sherry have residual sugar.
  • So-called bridge wines: those that initially developed flor but stopped doing so after several years, including Palo Cortado and Amontillado. Both are lighter in color than Oloroso and are described as more delicate, especially Palo Cortado. Both also have a higher alcohol level than a Fino, are dry, and show a mix of oxidative and less-evolved character.
  • Dessert Sherry: single varietal wines from Pedro Ximenez and Moscatel. Both are full-bodied, treacle-like, and remarkably sweet—the sweetest of all fortified wines. Moscatel also shows the hallmark dried floral character of the variety.

Port

Several keys: first, focusing on the two general styles of ruby and tawny Ports. From there, top quality Ruby Ports such as Vintage and Single Quinta wines are among the most deeply colored fortified wines, as well as some of the most concentrated and powerful. Finally, an important note that all ports are made from a blend of grapes making any effort to identify a varietal unimportant. Otherwise, here are additional keys to remember:

  • Tawny Ports: keying on the evolved color and oxidative character of the wines from extended oak aging. However, young or non-vintage Tawny Ports are not as oxidative and can be fruity. But a true aged Tawny will offer rancio-fruitcake notes as well as considerable oak influence.
  • Ruby Ports: Top quality wines such as Vintage Ports and Single-Quinta Ports are deeply colored (even opaque) and have concentrated ripe and raisinated-plummy fruits, herbal-spice notes, earth, and wood. Young vintage wines can be quite sweet and surprisingly tannic. Older vintages will offer more oxidative character throughout the profile of the wine. Basic non-vintage ruby ports will be fruity, lighter, and simpler, but still without clear varietal markers.

Madeira

For the sake of simplicity, I’m focusing on Frasqueira/vintage wines of the four varietal Madeiras. Above all, winemaking techniques create an indelible stamp to identify Madeira of any kind in the form of a cooked/Madeirized and oxidized character. The latter because vintage wines by law have to be aged in cask for 20 years and in bottle for two years. Madeira also typically shows the highest acidity level of any fortified wine. Otherwise, the four varietal Madeiras break down into pairs; dry wines fortified after fermentation and sweet wines fortified during fermentation.

  • Sercial and Verdelho: medium yellow to gold in color; preserved citrus and orchard fruits with a nutty tangy quality and high acidity. Verdelho is usually richer and deeper in color than Sercial.
  • Bual and Malmsey (Malvasia): medium-to deep garnet in color and medium-sweet and dessert sweet in style respectively. Overall, a more evolved, oxidative character but still the tangy, cooked quality found in all Madeira and bracingly high acidity. 

Vins Doux Naturels

From the Rhône and the Languedoc-Roussillon. There are two styles to key on: the fresh, unoaked style of Muscat de Beaumes de Venise and the oxidative style of wines like solera-aged Rivesaltes and Banyuls.

  • Fresher style: Muscat de Beaumes de Venise that is unoaked and bottled young with the pronounced floral and spice qualities the variety is known for. The wines are also medium-sweet in style with 15% alcohol content.
  • Oxidative style: Banyuls from the Roussillon. I’ll focus on Banyuls Rouge as there several styles made. Many wines range between 17% and 18% alcohol content. Some wines are lighter, forward, and fruity, like young Ruby Port. However, Banyuls Grand Cru wines, made from a minimum of 75% Grenache, are more deeply colored, more concentrated, and show baked fruit, prunes, raisins, pepper-spice, and herbs. Tasted next to other fortified wines, the peppery/savory quality of Grenache is notable.