One of the things I was trying to get a feel for, at this year’s Vinoble, was how Spanish sweet and fortified wines compared to those from the rest of the world. I was not very good at asking about prices, so I’m afraid I don’t really have a view on the value-for-money, but I was pretty good at having a taste.

It struck me that, as far as quality is concerned, spanish sweet and fortified wines have as wide a variety in quality as any other countries, or regions, and the best of these can easily hold their own against the highly touted from elsewhere. For me, at the top of the pile is definitely sherry. Some of the carefully aged and cared for sherries are more than world class. Perhaps they don’t command the same prices as some other iconic sweet and fortified wines, but they are just as complex, elegant and engaging.

Since these were recommended to me by sherry and wine writing legend, Julian Jeffs, I have to mention the newly released Harveys VORS range. I tried two of these (Palo Cortado and PX) at the London Wine Fair the week before Vinoble, where three had been awarded Gold (two best in class) and one Silver (best in class) at the IWSC 2008. At Vinoble, I tried the other two, the Amontillado and Oloroso. Beautiful wines, which all tell long, complex and interesting stories.

There were several Añada (vintage) sherries around at Vinoble as well. I went to a tasting given by Mauricio Gonzalez-Gordon from Gonzalez Byass where we enjoyed two Palo Cortados from 1978 and 1986 and also a blend of Oloroso añadas from every decade of the last century called, Millenium. The 1986 was …