A moment of manzanilla nerdery here – had saved the last glass of these three (two from Monday and one from Yesterday) for a side by side and I am glad I did.

Clear contrast between the Maruja and Solear for a start – the Maruja has a sweeter fruit-like nose and palate while the Solear is much more herbal or vegetable – celery or spicey raddichio. Both have zingy minerals but the Maruja’s tend to creep up on you whereas the Solear’s are more in your face. Of these three I am actually tending towards the Maruja, to my slight surprise. 

As between the two sacas of Solear, questions may have been raised as to whether to taste different sacas but after nearly a week open the gap between these two seems to have opened – the Spring 2016 seems more zingy, saline to the point of acidity, compared to the merely feisty Winter 2015. The Winter, on the other hand, seems to show more of those vegetable flavours. Then right at the last the spring shows a bit more hay bales and becomes more diffuse while the Winter stays more compact. I actually like the haybales – wish I hadn’t finished the Maruja already but I can’t compare!

Or it could all be confirmation bias – anyway it is an excuse to have a glass of three lovely wines and call it science.