Flor rising: The surprising comeback of an historic style
They may be an acquired taste, but wines made under a veil of flor might be making a comeback, argues Henry Jeffreys after stumbling across a few unusual examples.
There seems to be something in the air with flor wines.
My interest was piqued when I discovered several that are being made in an unexpected place: England.
Some of Henry’s favourite flor wines included below
Tommy Grimshaw, the winemaker at Dorset sparkling specialist Langham, says that flor developed at the winery in 2022 by accident. A thin layer appeared when he took some wine out of a 4,000-litre concrete tank of Chardonnay and didn’t top it up.
‘My grandmother asked why the wine was mouldy,’ says Grimshaw. He says he had an angel on one shoulder telling him to filter it, top it up and add sulphur, and the devil on the other saying ‘let’s see what happens’.
The wine ‘tasted amazing,’ says Grimshaw. So the devil won out. He now adds a proportion of flor-affected wine to Langham’s Coralion cuvée, a sparkling wine made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
Surprisingly, it’s not the only flor wine at Langham. The estate’s Perpetual Chardonnay – a multi-vintage sparkling that won Supreme Champion at the Wine GB awards this year – comes from a single Slavonian oak foudre which also developed a layer of flor by accident.
Sandridge Barton in Devon won the Best Alternative White trophy at the WineGB awards with its 2022 Sonny Pinot Blanc, or ‘Devon Sherry’ as winemaker Duncan Schwab calls it, which spent two years under flor. Again, the flor was a happy accident that the team decided to run with.
Flor falling then rising
Once upon a time wines labelled as ‘Sherry’ would have been made all over the world, particularly in South Africa and Australia. As part of trade agreements with the European Union (EU), both countries had to stop using the term in 2012 and 2011 respectively.
Australian wine writer Max Allen tells me: ‘One of the nails in the coffin of the already declining style was when the industry decided to adopt the made-up word ‘apera’ to replace the EU-protected ‘Sherry’.
He continues: ‘A handful of long-established producers still make flor-influenced fortified wines’ in Australia. This includes names such as Seppeltsfield in the Barossa and ‘a few Rutherglen stalwarts like Chambers and Pfeiffer.’
In South Africa, however, the style is moribund: Monis, a Fino-style wine with a heritage dating back to 1933, was discontinued in 2023.
But just as in England, a new generation of South African winemakers – like Badenhorst and Silwervis – are discovering the joy of flor.
Over in Mornington Peninsula in Australia, winemaker Rollo Crittenden was inspired by Vin Jaune from the Jura rather than Sherry when the Albariño he thought he had planted turned out to be Savagnin.
‘We began experimenting with ageing our Savagnin under flor, and the rest, as they say, is history,’ he says.
A Europe-wide style
As well as Jura’s Vin Jaune, other countries have their own unique style of flor wines, such as Száraz Szamorodni Tokaji in Hungary, Vernaccia di Oristano in Sardinia, and Vin de Voile in the Roussillon.
László Mészáros, winemaker at Disznókő, describes flor-aged Tokaji as ‘the traditional dry white style for the region, made for centuries.’
There’s a curious link to all these places in that they are all former Habsburg domains. Might the dynasty that ruled the Spanish empire, from 1516 to 1700, and the Austrian empire, in all its forms, from 1282 to 1918, have had a hand to play in the cultivation of flor wines?
Disappointingly however, historian and wine expert Giles MacDonogh says: ‘It seems a hell of a long shot to me.’ He patiently explains that the dates don’t line up. Fino Sherry only began to be marketed in the 19th century, long after the end of Habsburg rule in Spain.
So if it wasn’t passed on by Habsburg winemakers, why do flor wines exist in some places and not others?
Flor may have been more common in the days before regular topping up and commercial yeasts, but wouldn’t usually have been encouraged or understood.
Marcel Orford-Williams, former buyer for UK wine merchant The Wine Society who used to source Domaine de la Rectorie’s Vin de Voile, a dry Grenache Gris-based flor wine, for the retailer, thinks winemakers may not have even known they had it.
Less is more
Grimshaw at Langham says that flor formation has a lot to do with things you don’t do. If your winery is a haven for wild yeasts and you don’t top up, then you might get flor.
The renewed interest in flor wines goes hand-in-hand with the trend for natural winemaking. What could be more non-interventionist than letting a layer of yeast grow on your wine?
Like many low-intervention processes, there’s an element of risk involved.
The thick layer that develops in Jerez protects the wine. But lower alcohol, humidity and temperature can lead to a thinner layer, leaving the wine vulnerable to oxygen.
According to Wink Lorch in her book Jura Wine Ten Years On, volatile acidity can then get out of control.
But I’d argue the risk is worth it as soon as you smell a flor wine, where the flavours can range from bread to blue cheese.
‘Outlandish flavours’
Flor wines, wherever they’re from, have a distinctive leanness from lack of glycerol (which the yeast feeds upon along with alcohol and sugar), a saline note and often an outrageous spiciness akin to cumin.
Such wines are an acquired taste. But served alongside a hard cheese like Comté or Manchego, those outlandish flavours make perfect sense.
I find them some of the most moreish wines on the planet. Sommeliers love them, and Mészáros says that his Szamorodni Száraz is popular in fine dining restaurants.
Winemakers are drawn to them because they love to experiment. Grimshaw at Langham could barely contain his glee when he told me about a third tank he’s planning to bottle as a still wine next year: it contains Seyval Blanc that’s been ageing under flor for six years – I wonder what his grandmother will make of that?
Henry’s pick of five flor wines
Domaine de Sainte Marie, Vin Jaune, Côtes du Jura, France 2015
A very clean, fresh style of Vin Jaune with bready, fino-esque aromas. The palate has green apples, a bracing acidity and an extraordinarily long and nutty finish.
Disznókő, Tokaji Szamorodni Száraz, Hungary 2022
This is made using some botrytis-affected grapes, and is a blend of flor and oxidised wines. Fresh peaches, almond and orange peel, a bit like Marsala, with toffee and salted almond on the palate. Tastes bone dry with a creamy texture.
Crittenden Estate, Cri de Coeur Savagnin Sous Voile, Mornington Peninsula, Hungarian 2018
Highly distinctive wine with a blue cheese flavour on the nose. Take a sip and it’s not quite as crazy. There’s bruised apple and a beautiful round texture, creamy with Brazil nuts and a little vanilla.
Domaine de la Rectorie, Voile d’Argile, Vin de France, Roussillon NV
Made from Grenache Gris with 16.5% natural alcohol (no fortification) and aged under flor. There’s a distinct nuttiness on the nose with aromatic woody spice notes. The acidity is zingy with a toffee sweetness and a dusting of cinnamon.
Sandridge Barton, Pinot Blanc Sonny Under Flor, England 2022
This is from the winery’s experimental Don’t Feed the Ponies range. It’s aged under flor for two years. You can really smell that on the nose with saline and bready notes plus pure fresh green apple. It tastes like an unfortified English fino, if you can imagine such a thing.
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