The word Β« flor Β» is Spanish for flower, as, in the case of sherries at least, the surface of the wine in the part-filled barrels looks as if flowers have grown on it. The yeast strains bloom on the surface which take on a whitish-grey veil of variable thickness.
Some refer to this process as Β« biological ageing Β», as opposed to reductive or oxidative ways of ageing wines that require modification before they are fit for consumption on account of an overtly intensive structural profile of some description.
This opportunity arose thanks to an excellent initiative on the part of the Jura producers, who, like those in Cahors, consider that collaboration with producers from other countries who produce similar styles of wine to theirs can bring many positive results, rather than looking on others as just competitors to be shunned at all costs. I hope that such mentalities and ideas will gain ground in the future. In any case, judging by the numbers of specialist journalists who came especially for this symposium English, French, Belgians and Swiss were there , one could say that the organisers have marked some points.
The symposium was preceeded by a tasting which brought together quite a large number of vins jaunes , the local flor wine, as well as a couple of very good producers of Sherry and an excellent producer of a Tokay Szamorodni made also under a yeast veil. I was also able to participate in the annual Vin Jaune competition called clavelinage , which serves to awards medals to the vins jaunes that the jury members esteem to be the best representatives of the latest vintages of this very singular style of wine.
Flor in a Sherry butt. I say singular, because these wines produce aromas and flavours that not everyone likes, at least spontaneously and without a form of apprenticeship that few are prepared to undertake. After all, put simply, why should one suffer in order to learn to appreciate something? I would beg to differ from this postulate, but, in our individualistic world of instant gratification, efforts to overcome a natural resistance, whether physical or mental, are not always welcomed with open arms.
