The first of this year’s Lustau 3 en rama that is getting written up (after they very kindly sent me a set this week) is this lovely fresh manzanilla, the lightest of the three and fresh from bottling only a few weeks ago.

Although it has had the same four years under flor, in the same bodega, these are selected botas and it seems to me to have a sweeter, lighter touch than the 2015 edition, which I tasted in January (and which had at that stage 9 months in the bottle).

I really like it – the first impression on the nose was of sweet fresh green apples and apple blossoms, with slight touches of yeast and sea air in the background. As the bottle opened out the yeast and grassy aromas began to predominate but that first impression was very vivid. On the palate it also comes across as nicely defined: a sweet, floral and gentle start, then some zingy, intense salty grass-like flavours, and then a fresh, mineral finish, with faint traces of those apples.

I really like the freshness and the clarity of it – it is not big, intense or highly complex but I get the impression it is not intended to be. I also think I like it much more at 5 weeks old than I did at nine months – maybe I should drink it all right away!