Brut de Mar NV 13%, Cala y Arrobas España SL

Appearance

Pale strawy gold with bright golden glints. Lively mousse, at least at first.

Nose

The light elegant fruity aroma of the Zalema is apparent with faintly floral notes and traces of apricot, mango and papaya along with very slight hints of apple. The nose is gentle, very slightly exotic and most attractive yet it still has something which takes you to the Marco de Jerez.

Palate

Quite fruity up front, mostly from the Zalema one would imagine, with a trace of fruity sweetness (brut can contain up to 12 g/l sugar) but that soon fades away leaving a lovely chalky texture and a clean dry slightly saline finish which is quite long and which gives away its origins. Good.

Comments

Cala y Arrobas España SL is a joint project formed by the fusion of Artesanos Jerezanos SL, run by Genaro Cala and Arrobas y Cia., run by Luis Benjumeda Arrobas in El Puerto de Santa Maria. They have already had some success with Francisco de Cala Sparkling Vermouth and this is the latest project. Sparkling wine is not totally new to El Puerto; Ramón Jiménez Varela made "Champagne Continental" in the late XIX century. Luis has been working on this since 2006 and it was finally launched, though only 540 bottles, after consumer testing in August 2014. He uses Palomino harvested a little earlier than usual to preserve good acidity along with Viura and Zalema. The latter is a grape native to and nearly only produced in nearby Huelva. The wine is made by the Traditional method of bottle fermentation as used in Cava and Champagne. Like the latter he uses more than one vintage of Palomino and the proportions of the blend vary slightly from year to year depending on what works best, but they are roughly equal. They are trying to increase production while still retaining the artisan and local character of the wine. The bottle is in blue glass to emphasise the maritime roots of the wine.

Price

10.50 Licores Corredera

Manzanilla Pasada La Gitana Edición 225 Aniversario 15%, Hidalgo La Gitana

Appearance

Amber tinged gold with golden reflections.

Nose

Complex and attractive with lots of yeasty sourdough, brine and butter dominating rather than the more usual bitter almondy flor - though it is definitely there. This is a fresh yet serious wine with background notes of scrub and dried flowers, and a slightly humid saline feel. There are only very faint traces of oxidation and there is a delightful balance of all those classic Sanlúcar elements.

Palate

Full and very generous, a mineral, very saline backbone supports intense flavours of straw, brine, bitter almond, butter and flor. A little more oxidation on the palate and hints of cabezuela. Acidity is low but there is so much flavour you wouldn't notice. This is absolutely delicious, classic Pasada.

Comments

Having been established by José Pantaleón Hidalgo in 1792, the firm naturally wanted to celebrate eight generations and 225 years in the Manzanilla business, so what better than a limited release of special Manzanilla. And it is special - very special. It is classic old style wine with an average age of around 15 years and very pasada. The most outstanding wines from the finest old toneles gordos - or 1,000 litre butts - in the Bodega san Luis were selected and a blend was created sufficient to fill 1,792 heavy old fashioned Jerezana bottles which bear the old version of the iconic label, and are sealed with a driven cork and wax. You'll need to be quick to get a bottle of this masterpiece.
Price
27.50 euros, Licores Corredera