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Sacristia AB – Manzanilla en rama, primera saca de 2014

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Finishing off the month in style here with one of the manzanilla en ramas selected by Antonio Barbadillo Mateos – this one is the first edition from 2014.

It is dark in colour for a manzanilla  – a real old gold at least a shade darker than the Navazos effort. On the nose you would say refined rather than fragrant. To me it has a pronounced aroma of dried grass (especially when you come back to it) and maybe just a hint of old fruit (apples that have been stored away). Then in the mouth it is very slightly oily in feel and saline and intense in flavour. If you like your manzanillas mature this is definitely for you.

  

La Bota de Amontillado 49 A.R. 

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This is one of a series of Equipo Navazos wines – 47, 48, this one and the 51 – from ridiculously old, rare botas. They are all superstars – showstoppers, absolutely mind blowing. 

But they are also very hard work. In the past I have struggled with the 47 and the 48 and this was a similar experience – there is no doubt about its incredible complexity and power, but it is also extremely acidic and tough to drink. It is a finer, less astringent wine than the palo cortados, but I really question how drinkable it is.  

It was also unfortunate to be followed by the Toneles, which really is a bomb.

Emilio Hidalgo – El Tresillo

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Another absolutely remarkable wine from Emilio Hidalgo. This is an amontillado fino – several years under flor and then allowed to take a bit of rust from the air. The little brother, if you will, of the 1874 (passim)

It is super elegant, half oil on the tongue and fantastically balanced – super dry but with flavours that feel sweet. Not acidic, but resistant. I could drink this every night.

Palo Cortado Tradicion

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Wines like these make writing blogs fun I can tell you. This is another top drawer Palo Cortado – from Bodegas Tradicion, a crew who specialize in very old sherries like this one – a 30 year old palo cortado. 

This has a (burnt) citrus vibe on the nose, then a lot of (also burnt) caramel in the palate, an oily, buttery mouthfeel, a little bit of alcoholic heat and a little acidity. Really very good – real structure to it.  

Sacristia AB Amontillado Saca de 2014

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This is an amontillado selected by Antonio Barbadillo Mateos (i.e., not the Antonio Barbadillo) from the old soleras of Bodega Francisco Yuste and was an inspired purchase from Mares Vinos one sunny afternoon. 

It is crystal clear, chestnut in colour –  almost a dark rosé to look at. Very sweet on the nose with lots of caramel, but then a lot of Sanlucar salinity on the palate, together with burnt caramel and spice and minerals. Maybe not much by way of yeasty, bakery flavours – you could almost think it was a palo cortado rather than an amontillado – but then it has the elegance and refinement more akin to the former. 

  

This is an expensive wine by sherry standards – 70 euros or so for a 50cl bottle – but a highly enjoyable one.  

Solear en rama – Saca de Invierno 2014

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It is wintry weather outside so what could be better than this winter edition manzanilla en rama from Barbadillo. 

Saca literally means “taking out”, as in when the wine was taken from the solera and bottled (and is incidentally the origin of the old english word “sack” for sherry – do not buy the stuff that comes in sack cloth in the airport). Barbadillo produce a saca for each season – each with an attractive feathered friend on the label – this one being winter 2014. 

  
Just look at the beautiful deep gold colour of this. It is around 8 years under flor and looks to have grown in character. In the nose it has loads of yeasty unbaked bread and more dried herbs than fruit, maybe a bit of citrus in the background but not much by the way of the grapey apple of the mosto. In the mouth it is big and velvety, has an almost oily mouthfeel, and in flavour terms it is dry and intensely herby – again maybe a bit of grapefruity citrus. Not too salty – to be honest almost seems like a sherry rather than a manzanilla. It is immensely long. 

All in all a superb thing to have to hand for a pre dinner snifter. And again, 10 euros for a (half) bottle. 

Fernando de Castilla Fino Antique

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I have never asked them but I assume these guys named their bodega after Fernando IV – a king of Castile and Leon who amongst other things retook Gibraltar in 1309. While he was in the area he probably took the opportunity to fill his cellar with some top class sherry, brandy and maybe even vinegar.

This effort – the  Fernando de Castilla Fino Antique – is an absolute gem of a wine. Real aromas of the mosto – like grapey cider – and a lovely smooth intensity in the mouth. A little bit of nuts but not too toasted and certainly not too salty. This is the sort of wine you could drink with anything and at any time.

All in all a lovely tipple and fortunately I have another bottle.