17/20

La Bota de Vino Blanco 57 – Florpower MMXII 

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Out for a walk on a beautiful sunny afternoon I stuck my head into Taberna Averias and happened upon this remarkable white wine by Equipo Navazos. I must have last had it about a year ago down in Puerto de Santa Maria – on an occasion that was memorable in a number of ways – and have a bottle stowed away so was interested to see how it was faring.

As I failed to explain the first time I posted about this wine it is an interesting beast: palomino from Pago Miraflores fermented in inox, then eight months under flor in botas, then into more inox for another 18 months or so with some flor (full ficha here).

The resulting wine has a bit of everything. a nice rich colour, it still has a healthy amount of appley fruit to it on the nose and the palate but none of the pungent edge of a mosto. On the other hand there is just enough chalky tingle and mineral outline to give it crispness and a nice herbal or yeasty bitterness too.

Very good stuff – a glass is never the same as a full bottle but I reckon I am going to keep the one I have under wraps for a while yet.

 

Manzanilla Sacristia AB – 1a saca de 2011 

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Once again, just look at the colour of that. I write often about what a special place Territorio Era is and this sort of thing is one of the (many) reasons: the chance to try a special six year old manzanilla like this one.

Antonio Barbadillo started selecting and bottling limited releases of manzanillas in 2010 and so this is one of the very first, selected from Bodegas Sanchez Ayala of Gabriela, Gabriela Oro and Galeon fame. It is a bodega that has also been a happy hunting ground for the guys at Equipo Navazos and in general has a bit of a cult following (at least on this blog). The wines tend to be very incisive, but with a relatively pronounced and quite distinctive esparto grass character – like a stilleto in a velvet glove (note: not sure about this simile will try and think of something better). I still remember Antonio’s selection from the end of 2012 – my favourite of the series so far – so was really keen to try this.

As you can see, the colour is extraordinary. These wines tend to evolve relatively quickly – they are absolutely unfiltered and untreated – and after only six years this is a rich brown colour. (I say “only” six years – I have had en rama finos that were ten years old and had not got half as far as this.) The nose is also evolved, a lovely sweetness to it, esparto grass aroma but sweetened as if it had been wet and was just starting to rot.

On the palate it is smooth and full in flavour, baked apple and nuts and mellow salinity – waters the mouth and lasts and lasts. Unlike some wines with time in the bottle I didn’t notice added bitterness.  I must admit, though, that I was left hankering for a bit more vertical punch and incision (so much so that I had glass of the 2016 to compare) and ultimately felt that it had maybe gone a little past its absolute peak (which I reckon is around three to four years, if you can wait that long).

A lovely old wine though, and the mellowing of the years has only made it more drinkable.

 

 

 

 

 

Manzanilla Solear en rama Winter 2016 – the Egyptian Vulture 

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The Egyptian vulture has landed – been looking out for this for a while and now two halves of Europe’s smallest vulture are in my possession. 

Am intrigued that it is now labelled “manzanilla pasada” (was also the case in the Autumn but I didn’t notice). May be more accurate but I am not sure I fully agree with that. These marvellous wines have been manzanillas since 1999 and have surely earned the right to the name. They also don’t quite have the full, oxidated richness I associate with the best pasadas.

It certainly has all the flavour and character of the very best manzanillas. One of the most biological of wines, it has a sea air, wet reeds and rockpool nose, and the definition of zingy salinity – it is searing. Then spicey salad flavours that this time Inam finding slightly sweet. 

Vultures are already in grave danger in my apartment and I expect a dramatic fall in the population generally – get them while you can.  

Fino Tradicion, Saca de Noviembre 2016

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The latest saca from this excellent and improving series of wines, fresh in at Territorio Era. These winter sacas (they produce two a year in May and November respectively) tend to have more volume, punch and toasted, oxidated notes and this is no exception.

A pure beautiful crystaline brass of gold colour, it has a big punchy nose of salty sea air and esparto grass (natch) with a mix of older yeast, citrus and over-roasted almonds. On the palate it has real zing – a lot of saline action from start to finish – with again nice layers of flavours of nuts/burnt nuts and citrus/bitter citrus. Dry but flavourful and it lasts and lasts, with that sharp, crisp saline edge all the while.

Really excellent. I generally like the May sacas even more so look forward to that one!

Zuleta Amontillado Viejo 

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Hunting around in my little minibar last night for something nice to sup and happened upon this old classic. The second of two bottles I picked up from the Cuatrogatos wine club a year or so ago and probably the last of its kind to be seen around here.

It is a lovely tipple. A great example of a Sanlucar amontillado – elegant and sharp – but relatively fruitful too. As you can see, it is as clear as a bell and a lovely red-brown amber. On the nose it has seasalt and burnt hazelnut caramel, nice inviting sweetness to the nose. On the palate it has a nice clarity of flavour and shape. A lovely spine of salinity through it, starts razor sharp and finishes long with the mouth watering, and a mellow sweet-sour caramel flavour with waspish acidity at the end. 

Am I glad I had a second bottle of this. Lovely drop: enjoyable but serious too. 

Fino Capataz Solera de la Casa 

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At lunch in Territorio Era I had just enjoyed a glass of the Tradición Fino and thought it would be a shame not to compare it to this big boned fino from Montilla Moriles. Two 10-12 year old finos from high quality bodegas, the big difference being the grape involved – here we have pedro ximenez compared to the palomino.

You have to say it is a fantastic wine – real intense roast almond aromas and flavour, and volume but elegance too, with a nice zingy start and a long mouthwatering finish. Doesn’t have the bitter notes of the Tradición fino (although this is a year younger in the bottle) and in fact has a nice little caramel effect as the nuts give way to the minerals that makes the contrast even greater.

One of the outstanding finos. .

Fino Tradicion, Noviembre 2015

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I have a general sense that these finos from Tradicion are getting steadily better (although at a majestic tasting at Reserva y Cata last year it became clear that the story is a little more nuanced). I also think they benefit from a little bit of time in the bottle.

Whatever the case, this one – which I should reveal was bought for me at the bar of Territorio Era – really hit the spot. A yeasty, dry unroasted-nut fino with nice elegant shape, some bitter almond notes and a fresh finish.

Really excellent stuff.

CGWF17: Part 6 – Bodega de Forlong 80/20

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More shocking blogging here – thought I had saved it as a draft and in fact it has been posted for the last two days with nary a word of explanation. I might just bluff it out and claim it was a trailer – might work.

Anyway this is a wine I have been after for a while and was really happy to finally catch up with. Forlong is a class operation down in Puerto de Santa Maria, making table wines with classic local varieties: palomino,  pedro ximenez and tintilla (and some wild cards like a Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé). The name of this one is clearly a reference to the famous Pareto ratio and means that they make 80% of their sales to just 20 really keen bloggers. Alternatively, it could refer to the fact that this wine is 80% palomino and 20%, er, more palomino, from a different pago.

More to the point, although it is 80% palomino and 20% palomino, this has had some contact with the skins of the pedro ximenez, which have been macerated in the wine and give it a rich aroma, buzz and volume – almost tannic. As you can see above it has a deeper colour than you might expect (did I try a rosé before? can’t remember). Then the aromas are of honeysuckle, citrus and salty chalk and the flavours aren’t far away from there, before a long, intense finish.

Really liked this one – as tasty as it is inventive.

 

Colet Navazos 2011 – Extra Brut

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Having picked this up from Coalla Gourmet as a wine of the week lately (despite a moratorium being in place) I had the chance to crack this open after lunch yesterday at the home of a good friend and I thought it was brilliant. It is from Equipo Navazos and in particular their JV with cava producer Colet. According to the (as always) excellent ficha it is a 100% Xarel Lo with 30 months in rima and dosage with palo cortado and amontillado.

It is a big exuberant cava: yeasty, floral, roast apple and a touch nutty on the nose. Then a nice full, moussey texture with crisp carbonic bite, nutty flavours then heavy metal and grapefruity citrus on the palate.

A serious wine – bubbles to savour.

Bubbl

Manzanilla Velo Flor 

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This is one of the wines of the moment and one I have seen in countless instagram, twitter and facebook photos lately. Even worse, on more than one occasion I have rocked up to find a group of friends and acquaintances with a recently finished bottle. If not actual mental anguish it has been mildy vexing.

It has been worth the wait though. I finally caught up with this in Territorio Era and was most impressed. Beautiful label for starters (although points away for the vinoteca defying non-standard bottle shape), then a luscious old gold colour in the glass. Has a nose of yeasty haybales, roast almonds and above all a big dose of sea air, with iodine and sea salt, verging on rock pools. Then on the palate it is zingy and intense, full of bitter almond, curry and spice flavours. Long, spicey finish.

This is a manzanilla from Bodegas Alonso, one of the more exciting projects in Sanlucar at the moment. You can read all about it here in this excellent piece by Paula Maclean, but for many the words “Pedro Romero”, “Gaspar Florido” and “Ansar Real” sum it up  since these guys have managed to get hold of some of the most coveted botas in the region.

And happily, they are also producing an excellent manzanilla. A really excellent manzanilla in fact, and one worth chasing after.