Appearance
Strawy gold with golden highlights, legs.
Nose
Fruity Manzanilla! There are distinct maritime and gentle yeast notes in a wine which is otherwise a dry white table wine. There are notes of quince, lemon and gentle mountain herbs and a trace of almond, and there is a good depth to it with slight tartaric notes.
Palate
Refreshingly tangy with mineral notes and texture, there is a saline floral/herbal twist and a constant reminder of Manzanilla, though this has higher acidity which all but obscures a faint buttery, nutty note. It has great length and is a really interesting wine.
Comments
The rather odd name of this wine derives from the name of the 30 aranzada plot on pure albariza owned by Hidalgo in the larger El Cuadrado vineyard in the Pago Balbaina Alta, quite near the coast. The back label, which is aimed at the US (Miami) market refers to 30 acres (@14 hectares), but acres and aranzadas (an old agrarian land measure) are not so greatly different, so I thought the latter more likely, but maybe not. Anyway it is planted with rare 70 year old Palomino vines which have somehow survived the pressures of commerce. After a very gentle pressing the must is fermented in butts which previously contained the firm's single vineyard Manzanilla Pasada Pastrana, where it remained on its lees for six months, absorbing some noticeable Manzanilla character, before stabilisation and bottling. In fact also Pastrana itself comes from this vineyard. This is how the "vinos blancos" of Sanlúcar were traditionally produced. Some 5,000 bottles were filled.
Price
12.50 euros, Er Guerrita
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