Wednesday 18 October 2017

Manzanilla Arboledilla “Levante” 15%, Barbadillo

Appearance
Bright brass-tinged gold with golden highlights.
Nose
Very Manzanilla, very fresh with notable saline, almost lemon notes and hints of wild fresh herbs like camomile, yet light. The flor yeastiness is not over pronounced and there is a slight mosto character with a trace of apple/apricot fruit. It smells slightly younger than Solear, but is still very attractive.
Palate
Bone dry classic Manzanilla, it is very light and super fresh with plenty of those saline bitter flor and herb notes, and extremely elegant. There are few if any pasada notes, but it is very sophisticated and has great length. Lovely wine, and a bit more zippy than Poniente.
Comments
Being the biggest firm in Sanlúcar offers Barbadillo a huge range of possibilities for interesting wines. This is a limited edition of two wines, just 600 bottles of each, from exactly the same bodega (the famous Arboledilla) and exactly the same solera (Solear) and with exactly the same age, and the only difference between them is that they come from butts at opposite ends of the bodega. A mere 200 metres apart, the wines show distinct differences. One comes from the Poniente (west) side of the bodega and the other comes from the Levante (east) side. Named after the trees planted on the east side of the bodega which protect it from the heat, La Arboledilla has virtually no windows on this side, while the west side has large ones which allow in cooler air. It is the largest bodega in Sanlúcar with a huge airspace allowing the huge number of butts in the nine-criadera solera to breathe. The wines were bottled in June 2017 en rama. It is envisaged that they will be released occasionally, when oenologist Montse Molina sees fit, and while they are lovely individually, it is wonderful and instructive to compare them. The bottles are sealed with a driven cork.
Price
12.50 euros, Licores Corredera


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