Manzanilla Pasada Goya XL 2018 15%, Bodegas Delgado Zuleta

Appearance
Fairly deep brass tinged gold with brassy highlights.
Nose

Very attractive mature nose with considerable depth and showing some flor - but much more. It has all the characteristic aromas of esparto, olive brine, sea salt and sourdough, along with a touch of cabezuela and faint hints of oxidation and a slightly humid buttery note which combine to give it great complexity. Classic Manzanilla pasada yet extremely elegant and harmonious.
Palate

This is delicious. Completely dry and super subtle with a gently salty tang enhanced by a hit of flor bitterness. There is a certain richness which comes from those oxidative and buttery cabezuela notes, which also give it a gentle texture and grip allowing the wonderful briny yeastiness to shine through in all its complexity. Once swallowed it just goes on and on.
Comments

This is only the 4th saca of this superb Manzanilla which is not released regularly but only when conditions are exceptional, and then only from very few carefully selected butts. It comes from the family reserve of the Manzanilla La Goya solera which used to be located in an old underground bodega called La Casa near Sanlúcar’s Bajo de Guia. When the firm relocated to the new bodega on the Chipiona road in 1989, the solera had to be moved and many of the old butts had to be repaired, stave by stave, so it took a while for the wine to settle, but it has certainly returned to its former glory. It is a Manzanilla pasada with an average age of over 10 years which is a blend of selected butts, and the saca is aged a little extra as a blend, or ”reposada” as the bodega calls it, before bottling en rama in Autumn 2017 and in very limited quantities. XL (excelente) is what the oenologist writes in chalk on the selected butts.

Price
22.95 euros per 50cl bottle, De Albariza

Solo 2016 14.5%, Bodegas González Palacios

Appearance
Pale to mid strawy gold with golden highlights.
Nose

Plenty of flor bitterness and lots of apple, quince and pear fruit join a battle which neither wins. There is an attractive almost bitter-sweet tension between the two which arouses interest and whets the palate. But there is more to it than that; neither dominates and while the fruit is good and ripe with an implied sweetness the flor side dries it out aided by a fresh salinity, and it also has a little weight to it.

Palate

Up front flor gives way to a fuller, rounder, fruitier feel but keeps it in check. There is lots of ripe fruit and a satisfying breadth to the wine but that gently saline bitterness runs all the way through giving it a sort of irresistible verve. This is lovely wine with a character all its own.

Comments

González Palacios is the leading bodega in Lebrija which, while being in the province of Sevilla, is more geologically connected to Cádiz, and has its own Denominacion de Origen Protegida. This wine is made from 100% low yielding Palomino fermented in butt and aged for around 15 months in well seasoned Sherry butts under flor like it has been since the XVII century. It is basically unfortified  young Fino and is what has been drunk for centuries in the area, and with quality like this you can see why.

Price

11.40 euros, Licores Corredera

22.10.18 Andalucía Award for Luis Pérez; Pedrino

The judging panel of the Junta de Andalucía department of Agriculture, fishing and rural development has announced its 2017 prizes, which recognise the work and innovative spirit of companies, organisations, professionals and individuals in agriculture, cattle ranching, fishing and food production, will be awarded in November in Almería. The winner in Cádiz is Bodegas Luis Pérez for their important and tireless work in the recuperation of the traditional types of wine and attracting public interest in them, the digitalisation of all the pagos of the area using written accounts, soil analysis, satellite imaging, temperature and rainfall statistics among other means.

Willy Perez (foto:diariodejerez)

Part owned by the Showering family who once owned Harveys, Melius Drinks is promoting Pedrino, a sophisticated low alcohol (5.5°) sparkling mixer drink, which can of course be enjoyed on its own. There are three versions, based on Vermouth, Port and Sherry, and the latter uses Pedro Ximénez supplied by Diez-Mérito. Pedrino is far less sweet than PX and works fantastically well with gin as it is a blend of PX, tonic and citrus botanicals. It comes in 200ml bottles and is already available in the US, Holland, UK, Germany and Spain, where Diez-Mérito launched it at Vinoble. 

Chardonnay-Sauvignon Blanc 2017 13.5%, Cortijo de Jara

Appearance
Very pale bright clean silvery gold with pale gold highlights.
Nose

There is plenty of clean fresh fruit here with mostly Sauvignon notes up front with their green kiwi and gooseberry fruit with a softer, fuller more floral Chardonnay following through. There are traces of confectionery and orchard aromas and the whole needs a little more time to harmonise, but it will.

Palate

Quite assertive with lots of zippy vibrant fruit, decent acidity and a gentle texture. A slight worry was that the grapes would need to be picked early to retain acidity and thus possibly lose out on full maturity, but they seem to have got it right. It could do with a little more bottle (and vine) age though just to harmonise everything, but for the first release it is impressive, long clean and fresh.

Comments

The wine from the highly commendable firm of Cortijo de Jara, which grows chickpeas, sunflowers, olives and wheat as well as wine in the countryside between Jerez and Medina, just seems to keep getting better. They have already won two prizes this year for red wines. This is the first release of the new Chardonnay-Sauvignon Blanc blend which amounts to only 2,500 bottles. The bunches were selected in the vineyard before hand picking. After pressing the must was fermented at a controlled temperature in a stainless steel tank to optimise primary aromas and flavours. I confess that I had some doubts about this blend, mixing the Loire with Burgundy one could say, but it is interesting and works really well.

Price
6.30 euros, Licores Corredera

20.10.18 Beltrán Domecq Joins Calls for Increase in Grape Price

The independent growers of the Marco de Jerez have long been calling for a fair price for their grapes, as the current 0.36€/kg, the cheapest in Spain, is completely unsustainable. Since no grower is making a profit there can be no investment in updating or maintaining machinery or replanting vineyards, save for replacing sick or dead vines. Furthermore the next generation sees no future in growing vines other than those for the table wine sector which is taking off, and at profitable prices but reducing the amount of grapes available for Sherry. According to the grower´s association Asevi-Asaja 0.45€/kg (a 125% increase) is the mínimum price required or vineyards will simply be abandoned. Thankfully, the president of the Consejo Regulador, Beltrán Domecq shares this view saying that the grape price must increase and has called on growers, bodegas and cooperatives to work out a deal to establish reasonable prices and guarantee the future of the Marco de Jerez. Let us hope his words have the desired effect.

Vermouth La Copa Blanco 15%, González Byass

Appearance
Pale to mid bright golden straw with golden highlights.

Nose

Pronounced sweetish citric notes up front, mainly lemon and perhaps a hint of tangerine followed by the classic bitter herbal notes one expects in vermouth with suggestions of rosemary and thyme, and possibly gentian. The overall aroma is reasonably complex, lively, and inviting, and very fresh.

Palate

The story is much the same on the palate, starting fresh and citrussy then getting more bitter with the wormwood and green herbs, but that is balanced by a certain sweetness, (perhaps just a little too much if compared with French vermouth like Noilly Prat or Chambery) and a certain viscosity. Nonetheless, this mixes well with a good dry gin and is lovely on its own with ice and a slice of lime.

Comments

This vermouth is the comparatively recently (re) released white partner for the red La Copa. It is, of course, based on selected Fino in which is steeped a range of  secret botanicals which include wormwood,  savoury, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and lemon and bitter orange peel. GB first made red and white vermouth back in 1896, and in those days vermouths were often called "Italian" ("I´ll have a gin and it") for sweet red, also used for example in a Manhattan, or "French" for fairly dry white vermouth used in cocktails like the Dry Martini or Gibson. This will be welcomed by the growing number of barmen making cocktails using Sherry as a base.

Price

8.65, Licores Corredera

Fino en rama Arroyuelo saca 2018 15%, Bodegas Primitivo Collantes

Appearance
Bright, strawy gold lightly tinged with brass and old gold highlights.
Nose

Beautiful nose, quite full with yeasty flor on the surface and serious Fino behind. There are all sorts of nuances like wax, straw, sourdough, hints of minerality, briny salinity and traces of cabezuela coming together to make it remarkably complex for its age.

Palate

Again quite full, and very tasty. Acidity is fairly low but there is enough flor bitterness, mineral and salinity to compensate, and with the body and roundness provided by that slightly buttery touch of cabezuela, balance is perfect. It also has terrific length.

Comments

This excellent Fino is made from a careful selection of just three of the best butts (numbers 3, 5 and 11 to be exact) in the Arroyuelo solera which it leaves with an average age of 5 years. It was bottled on the 9th July 2018, the annual saca, without any treatment whatsoever. The firm, established over 100 years ago is still in family hands and has two bodegas and over 50 hectares of land all located in Chiclana, which is, of course, in the production zone. It seems so unfair that wines of this quality can´t call themselves Sherry; they are every bit as good.

Price
12.85, Licores Corredera