Manzanilla Pipiola 15%, Bodegas M Sánchez Ayala

Appearance

Fairly pale almost lemony gold with bright golden highlights.

Nose

Forthcoming and aromatic with classic Manzanilla notes of camomile and salty sea air. There are also slightly floral and gently fruity hints of apple with background notes of briny salinity, minerality, yeast and scrub, but overall it has an air of super freshness and charm.

Palate

There is a very fine balance here between the very gentle bitterness of the flor and the slightly fruity, floral side, so they all have a chance to shine. The level of acidity is spot on and accentuates the freshness and the finish is as clean as a whistle, leaving lingering sensations of camomile, bread and olive brine. The wine is elegance itself.

Comments

The brand and solera Pipiola used to belong to Manuel Garcia Monge, whose widow ran the bodega until she sold it to Sánchez Ayala in the 1980s. Then, the wine was sold as a Manzanilla Amontillada, but it is now a straight Manzanilla. Later the bodega was bought by its current owner, José Luis Barrero Jiménez. While José Luis has plans to bottle it someday, it is only sold on draught at the bodega at the moment. To relaunch it in bottle would be costly and need much promotion. At least it is being looked after with loving care for the time being, and in a bodega which is extremely close to the beach. The word "pipiola" is colloquial for someone young and inexperienced, a novice.

Price

3.65 per litre draught ex bodega

The Pipiola solera and old label

Bodegas: Manuel García Monge SA

This reputable bodega was founded in Sanlúcar at the end of the XIX century by Manuel García Monge (b.1862), and with help from his sons earned a good reputation for its Manzanilla Pipiola, among other wines. The firm owned vineyards at the Finca El Maestre in the Pago Mahina near Sanlúcar, and Los Espejos.

In 1918 they bought the old bodega owned since 1907 by Doña Carmen Giménez Flores (1867-1938). She was known as “La Infantona”, being the daughter of a shoemaker and a servant who became a wealthy viscountess being the lover of Prince Antonio de Orleans y Borbón. This bodega was originally the 1526 Hospital de San Juan de Dios in Calle Misericordia. After it ceased to be church property in the 1830s it had been converted for bodega use between 1867 and 1868 by the businessman and bodeguero Cipriano Terán Carrera who later sold it to Doña Carmen. Inside, there is a carved millstone set into a wall recording this. There was once an old chest here which had been used to carry gold from the Americas, and it had 14 locks and 14 bolts.

Manuel’s wife was María Gómez Porras, and after Manuel’s death in the 1940s she bought a beautiful house in 1947, along from the bodega in Calle San Juan, known as “Casa del Kilómetro 24”, once owned by the daughter of the bodeguero Carlos Otaolaurruchi. It was so named because it was 24 km from the Jerez Post Office.

María ran the business as Viuda de Manuel García Monge with her son Manuel García Gómez. He died in 1968 and his nephews Manuel and Diego García Olave took over as Herederos de Manuel García Monge. Diego was company secretary but died aged only 31 in 1978. The business was wound up with the bodega being sold to the owners of Hijos de Rainera Pérez Marín, producers of La Guita, and it was later restored by the current owners, Grupo Estévez.  The Pipiola solera was sold to Sánchez Ayala who only sell the wine, now a straightforward Manzanilla, on draught. The La Montería solera now belongs to Francisco Yuste who sells a range of wines under this brand name.

The 18th July 1936 was the day the Civil War broke out. Best to be on the right side.

Some of their brands were: Manzanilla Pasada Triunfal “La España Nueva” (Civil War bottling), Manzanilla Pasada La Montería (now Yuste), Fino Mahina (single vineyard), Manzanilla Amontillada Pipiola, Amontillado Navazo, Jerez Oro, also Anis, Brandy, Vermouth, even Málaga Wine.

Finca El Maestre