Manzanilla Ecologica Entusiastica 15%, Delgado Zuleta

Appearance

Deepish for a young Manzanilla, mid strawy gold, brassy highlights and light legs.

Nose

Unusual but attractive, an interesting mix of flor and fruit with elements of dried fruit such as apricot and a slight butteriness. Naturally being a new solera it lacks some of the complexity that would impart, but there is plenty of the briny doughy character and a certain salinity. It is a bit like mosto aged under healthy flor. It is really interesting.

Palate

A slight cider note gives way to flor bitterness then that hint of fruit kicks in. I think the fruit might come from the Mantua Castellano grape, a traditional variety which might unofficially be in the wine. It is quite intense and rounded in the mouth then gets drier towards the end. For a young wine it has amazing character and I can't wait to see how it develops in the years to come.

Comments
This is the first organic Manzanilla on the market, and was released on the 9th October. It is suitable for vegetarians and vegans alike. The project goes back to 2011 when Pepe Cabral, a grower of ecological Palomino grapes and co-founder of Mostelé, a group of organic growers, decided it was time there was an organic Manzanilla. Previously he had been working with the cooperative AECOVI Jerez but they went bust. 

The paperwork was double the usual, what with the Consejo and the Organic certification which comes from both the EU and Andalucian bodies. He approached Jorge Pascual the director of Delgado Zuleta, who was very interested. After the 2012 harvest 1,000 litres of must from 1 hectare Pepe owns in the Pago Burujena near Jerez were put into two specially prepared ex La Goya butts in the DZ bodega Don Rafael. The must was fortified with organic spirit and left to age, and as the 2013 and 2014 musts arrived a tiny solera was forming. 2 sacas are envisaged each year. It wasn't easy for a big bodega to make such a small quantity, and this might well have some influence on the character.

In October 2015 a very small saca was made (1,100 bottles)with a view to launching the wine and finding out what the public thought of it. While the wine is made exactly the same way as all Manzanilla - albeit with organic grapes - the presentation is very innovative. The en rama wine had a deep colour for its age so a clear glass bottle was chosen to highlight it and it has a driven organic cork. The label is from a painting by the Russian artist Igor Andreiev. The packaging was all done by Pepe Cabral. The successful launch took place at DZ with the new wine being presented by its makers: Pepe Cabral, Jorge Pascual and Salvador Real, the DZ oenologist. I hope and believe this will be just the first of many organic Sherries.

Price

18.15 Euros. Only available in Sanlúcar as far as I know.

15.9.14 First Organic Sherry in 2015

The first organic Sherry will be released in 2015. The cooperative AECOVI buys all the organically produced grapes in the region, and in a few months will release a late harvested wine from the 2014 harvest. AECOVI is a group of cooperatives: COVISAN in Sanlucar, Nuestra Señora de las Angustias in Jerez, Catolico Agricola in Chipiona and Union de Viticultores Chiclaneros in Chiclana.  Most of the AECOVI vineyards belong to over a thousand smallholders who pick manually and deliver the grapes to four big lagares (presshouses).

The harvest of organic Palomino was some 140,000 kilos, which were pressed and fermented separately. Some of this must will also be used to feed the organic vinegar soleras which were established five years ago and whose produce is already available on the market.

Turning the bunches of PX during sunning (foto Diario Jerez)

All this is the culmination of at least two years of strictly organic production in order to receive the necessary certification, and now under official control, the vineyards must be free of any chemical products, fertilisers or herbicides. The cooperatives’ technical people are keeping an eye on things in order to achieve the maximum quality with the maximum respect to the environment.

AECOVI has also successfully completed the sunning of the Pedro Ximenez grapes, largely thanks to very good weather with the absence of rain. A total of 60,000 kilos of PX were picked, all in the Jerez area. Fine, dry weather is vital as once picked, the bunches must be exposed to the sun for 8-10 days, and any humidity such as rain can cause big losses to rot. The vintage has been of exceptional quality, but while the fine weather has reduced the crop somewhat, the alcohol levels are good. In nearly all the vineyards levels of 12, even 13 have been achieved, much higher than usual.

10.10.13 First Organic Sherry Launching Soon

The first organic Sherry will hit the market in time for Christmas. It is the first of a range of organic wines produced by the cooperative AECOVI, who have only comparatively recently been marketing their own wines (since 2008).  The cooperative has been working on this project for some years, and they see it as a good marketing strategy. The wine is made from 100,000 litres of Palomino must certified as organic and vinified and aged separately from other musts. The wine is likely to be sold in export markets rather than in Spain. AECOVI is a group of four cooperatives, with 1200 growers, and has a young and dynamic outlook, especially with their research and development work.

Carmen Romero, boss of AECOVI with some products (lavozdigital)