Not seen this in a little while and it is much missed – a lovely yeasty manzanilla. Big acetaldehide profile making it fragrant and aromatic- lots of chamomile and nuts – and a bready, umami solidity to it on the palate, more of a buzz than a zing.
It was absolutely brilliant with this asparagus salad in Sacha last night: not just any asparagus – a rare breed of some kind with a very celery like flavour – very simply prepared and absolutely delicious.
This wine for me is defined by its minerals, even compared to other finos. Some sacas are exhilaratingly saline, so zingy that they are like the famous “salty knives” of Sanlucar, others are less piercing but still structured, and you get more of the apple juice fruit as a result. (It is, of course, from Finca Matalian.)
The saca from last September was of the latter school, and I remember at the time I tried it that I would like to see the comparison with this one from March last year. Several weeks have gone by since then so I am not able to compare faithfully but this certainly seems to have a more mineral feel – real zing and structure, and also big volume, and instead of apples more along the lines of celery and green leafy vegetables, just a hint of that salad-like spiciness.
Really good stuff yet again.
A delightful wine and a delightful pairing. We were having a spot of lunch in la Chula de Chamberi and this magically appeared in the centre of the table ar more or less the same time as a bevy of grilled razorclams (navajas a la plancha). Or maybe I should say hoved into view, because this is Oloroso el Galeon.
It is a 100% palomino, 20 year old oloroso by Sanchez Ayala in Sanlucar (better known for their Gabriela and Gabriela Oro manzanilla, not to mention the special bottlings of their wines by Equipo Navazos and Sacristia AB) and it was indeed delightful. It is, as you can see thanks to my much improved photography, a beautiful red amber colour – just look at the brilliant reflections in the glass. On the nose it had a nice salty caramel effect – very appetising indeed – then on the palate it lived up to that billing and them some: tasty, light on its feet, salty but with an almost delicate acidity and lovely balance.
Really good stuff – and an excellent pairing with the salty, juicy razorclams.
Not a great day outside but always a good moment for a spot of fino and the second leg of the Spring 2016 3 en rama. In fact, a bit of controversy over the order – Carlos from Lustau here in Madrid would go Manzanilla, Fino del Puerto, Fino (which does makes sense in that the Manzanilla and Fino del Puerto share those seaside influences), whereas I prefer the Manzanilla, Fino, Fino del Puerto order because I think the flavours of the latter are a touch more intense than those of the Fino. Anyway whoever is right, this is what I am drinking right now.
This is another selection from a solera – this time in Jerez de la Frontera – and the wine has spent an average of five years under flor (compared to four for the Manzanilla and five for the Fino del Puerto).
In colour it is a pale goldish yellow – maybe a little less of the green tinge that the manzanilla had. On the nose, there are again some notes of green apple but less grass and more yeast and undergrowth. Then on the palate you get that yeasty flavour with a suggestion of apple at first, followed by punchy undergrowth and salinity, and then quite a long yeasty and sapid finish – maybe a little longer than the manzanilla.
A very pleasant fino -compared to the manzanilla it doesn’t scream freshness at you but it is certainly at the lighter, fresher end of the scale, with just a little heft to it.
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!
Opened this and gave it to my wife – who has started to gripe about the dominance of palomino chez nous, and is known to loudly reminisce in a pointed fashion about her favourite white burgundies and riojas. She immediately smelt a rat (or, in fact, a wine from the marco) “but this is all grapey like a pedro ximenez!” (a nice Rully was opened and peace restored).
Not the first time I have had this – first tried it in La Chula de Chamberi where it is killer with a foie they have – but after all the thinking about palomino white wine the last couple of days I was intrigued to give it another roll.
I was in fact pretty impressed at my better half calling pedro ximenez because it is really not the standard px. However now I am tasting it post-Pandorga I think I can see a similar profile emerging: the fruit, sweet notes turning to bitter orange marmalade – here the fruit is not as sweet and the marmalade not as clear or rich but the shape is evident. It is even a similar profile to the very old pedro ximenez’s with their fantastic bittersweet finish.
Above all this is a very pleasing wine to drink – rich, honeyed and tasty but elegant and even a little bit smokey.
These Williams Colección Añadas are really fascinating. These are “vintage” sherries that have been statically aged – the year’s mostos put in botas and left to get on with it rather than forming part of a solera. As a result there is a bigger scope for variation in the resulting wine due to the different characteristics of the fruit and mosto used and the formation and development of the flor in the botas, meaning a bigger variation in what comes out of the barrel compared to the solera wines. This is a case in point: it is so utterly different to the 2006 Vintage Fino and the Pando it is remarkable.
This one is from palomino from old vines (between 60 and 20 years of age) in albariza vineyards in Añina and Carrascal (Jerez) and has been statically ageing for seven years in botas of american oak of 500 and 600L before the saca in february of this year, classification as a fino and en rama bottling.
The first time I had this I didn’t really have the time to study it in detail but I am quite pleased with the tasting note I came up with. The colour is indeed evolved, it has a fruitful, sweet and oxidized or “sherryfied” nose. On the palate it is rich and full bodied – a sensation of glycerin- and a resulting impression of fruity sweetness. It is as if the flor hasn’t really got to work on this. Having said that you can still taste the minerals in the background – a sensation almost like a mineral red. Finally there is also a touch of age in the finish – as if it was already heading down the woody path.
(Due to agenda issues I am still working on the horizontal/vertical/diagonal of the full set that I picked up weeks ago from Coalla Gourmet – in the meantime I have picked up a few bottles from Reserva y Cata in Madrid so at least have some bottles to keep me going. Kudos to both for stocking these fascinating wines.)
This morning I added a #palomino tag to the blog to make it easier to find the palomino table wines and in the process discovered that this note was still amongst the “drafts” (with a couple of other lost notes that will surface shortly).
It is a 100% palomino by Bodegas Hidalgo la Gitana and, to judge by the name, from a very special pago: el Cuadrado, which is either a pago by itself or at the Sanlucar end of the Pago de Balbaina, depending on your definition. Whatever it’s status, it is a famous and highly regarded plot of land: one of those names that make the guys down there, and the real experts in these wines, go slightly misty eyed. It is also one of the pagos that I have visited in person and had a chance to judge the lie of the land. (And incidentally, the pago responsible for one of the best wines I have come across so far.)
On the nose this has almonds and tropical fruit and, according to my notes, a hint of pizza herbs like oregano (I must have really liked it). On the palate it is fresh, easy to drink but with a nice body to it: those nuts and fruit again and just a little bit of herbal and calcium bite.
Nice structure and balance and a really promising wine.
A sunny spring afternoon behind me, with the loafers and chinos on and it is time to refresh and replenish vital minerals with this classic manzanilla. (Not the first or even the second time I have reviewed it and I refer to those reviews for details etc.)
What I will say is that when you drink an aromatic, mineral wine like this it becomes obvious why generations of Jerez winemakers may have wanted to emulate it. Light but savoury to the point of spicey – a bit of salty burn – and just enough aromatic juice to it. Really takes you to the seaside.
Saw this recommended by Soliciting Flavours and then by Juancho Asenjo and thought I ought to give it a shot. Picked up a bottle instanter in Bodega Santa Cecilia and, after a short hiatus caused by a headcold, here we are.
A very decent, tasty oloroso. A rich brown in colour and not quite crystaline – ever so slightly turbid. Old barrel and spices on the nose, and old barrel and spices on the palate too – bit of acidity to it. Not high in fruit or juice but plenty of tang and a nice smokey finish too. Enjoyed it more with some pasta – just helped it a little.
Not as big and generous in profile as some but very nice and a great option on the dinner table.
undertheflor.com 