A life under flor: How Montserrat Molina became Sherry's leading lady

Warm autumn sun gently seeps into the dark-panelled tasting room of the Barbadillo offices in Sanlúcar de Barrameda on Spain’s Atlantic coast, north of Cádiz. New-release wines sit alongside bottles of old vintages whose labels are barely legible in the dappled light.

It’s quiet, with the silent energy that only exists in the criaderas (Sherry ‘nurseries’) of the region’s bodegas, where flor – the layer of yeast and other microorganisms that forms on the surface of some Sherries – industriously yet discreetly goes about its work on the wines.

Here in this golden gloom, winemaker Montserrat (Montse) Molina speaks softly and thoughtfully about the wines. The conversation is technical and detailed, as one would expect of someone with her experience and knowledge.

Then something shifts: a spark, a flicker in her eye and Molina grows animated. Why? The subject has turned to yeast.

‘We can’t always explain the “why” – why something tastes the way it does, even though it’s the same wine but in a different barrel,’ Molina explains. ‘It’s the yeast. The manzanillas are old but lively because of the type of yeast that has developed. And once I’m gone, these yeasts will still be here.’