Vino Blanco Mirabrás 2017 15%, Barbadillo

Appearance

Slightly brassy strawy gold with golden highlights.

Nose

Lovely fresh herbaceous nose with plenty of seaside character and just a little flor allowing some notes of appley Palomino fruit through. There are all sorts of background subtleties like traces of candied fruit, tarte tatin and camomile which give it a delightful zesty youthfulness and a gentle richness as well, with a faint saline trace at the back. Subtle and classy.

Palate

Beautifully balanced and smooth with fairly low acidity letting the perfectly ripe fruit shine through. The 15% alcohol seems to bring out more depth of flavour without making it feel any stronger, and it certainly feels rounder. Needless to say there is a slight chalky texture and a hint of salinity but over all it is fruity, and with a lovely twist of flor at the end.

Comments

Mirabrás is a wonderfully interesting project, run by Montse Molina and Armando Guerra, which runs the gauntlet between classic Sanlúcar vino blanco and Manzanilla. There are only six toneles of wine yet every release is different. For example the 2016 was 13.5% and this 2017 is 15%, and in between there was a tiny release of 2012 Manzanilla Mirabrás (qv). They are really having fun, but also coming up with delicious and seriously interesting wines. Surprisingly this release has 15%, probably due to some sunning, but at only a year and a half or so of crianza, mostly in toneles filled to the top , it cannot officially be a Manzanilla. 5322 bottles.

Price
14 euros, Licores Corredera

Mirabrás 2016 13.5%, Barbadillo

Appearance
Deep bright straw gold with golden highlights.
Nose
Serious, with  lots of nuances; fruity ones like apple - even a faint cider-like hint, herbal ones like camomile and fresh straw, traces of flor and a gentle sweeter, almost honey-like tone possibly from the asoleado. Not far removed from Manzanilla with its light marine notes, yet fruitier and with less flor and alcohol. And there is a certain weight to it. Very attractive.
Palate

Tangy apple,bitter hints of flor and a saline note instantly give away its origins and grape variety. There is also a slightly chalky mineral feel and a decent level of acidity which give it a decent bite and some of the classic Sanlucar wildness and probably some bottle ageing potential, especially if the 2014 is anything to go by. Both delicious and interesting.

Comments

The wine is named after the Mirabrás which is a style of Flamenco associated with Sanlúcar, hence the label design. The wine itself is even more interesting, however. It is made the old fashioned way from 100% old vine (45 years old) Palomino grown in the firm's Cerro de Leyes vineyard which is part of their larger Finca Santa Lucia. The grapes are sunned briefly before fermentation using natural yeast in toneles seasoned with Manzanilla. It remains for some 14 months on its lees, without batonnage, in a mix of the same toneles and some tanks where flor is allowed to develop, but to a small extent as the toneles are filled "a tocadedos". It was bottled without filtration in December 2017 and a total of just over 5,000 bottles were available.

Price
16,95 euros, De Albariza

Mirabrás 2014 14.5%, Barbadillo

Appearance

Bright, fairly pale golden straw with golden highlights and very light legs.

Nose

Fresh and slightly mineral with an attractive gently tangy, finely textured Palomino fruit, hints of toasted corn, fresh apricot and ripe plum balance with a faintly saline flor bitterness which is perceptible but not as noticeable as in a Manzanilla.

Palate

Complex with beautiful poise having almost the weight of a Manzanilla yet a fresh fruity zing to counterbalance that trace of flor bitterness. There is a gentle texture, a feel to it which reminds one of albariza. It is tantalisingly close to Sherry but it isn't, and that's what makes it so interesting to drink.

Comments

This wine is excellent and a great idea being wine as it used to be. It is a table wine and therefore unfortified yet only a half degree lower in strength than a Manzanilla. It was fermented in old toneles which had previously aged Manzanilla, and flor was allowed to grow during its year and a half or so of ageing in tank. The result is a wine which is an exact half way house between Manzanilla and table wine; there are alcohol and flor elements yet it is fruity and has more acidity than a Manzanilla but with the latter's dry finish. The grapes come from the Cerro de Leyes vineyard in the firm's finca Santa Lucia and were briefly sunned. This is the first release, only 2,000 bottles I'm afraid, and the wine has a Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz denomination.

Price
14 euros from Licores Corredera