La Bota de Manzanilla n°32 (Equipo Navazos)

Equipo Navazos is probably the most significant thing that happened to the sherry industry in the last ten years. Founded by Jesús Barquín and Eduardo Ojeda, it is the first independent bottler of sherry wines, so to speak.

Part of their concept is inspired by the almacenistas who are ageing stocks in their warehouses to sell them afterwards to larger brands. Especially Lustau’s series is similar: they buy wine from small producers and bottle them in one bigger series, giving credit to the producer on the label. Equipo Navazos takes this a bit further: they’re not producing wine (although they are sometimes actively shaping wines). They go out and hand-pick single casks or very small batches, all over Andalusia.

Each of them is bottled in the La Bota… series which challenges conventions by bottling them with minimal filtration (en rama style). They’ve taken the practice of selecting and bottling sherry to the next level (similar to the whisky world where the idea of independent high-end bottlers has been very common for decades).

La Bota 32

It comes from a batch of 20 barrels, part of the best Manzanilla solera (12 scales) at Bodegas Sánchez Ayala in Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

This Manzanilla n°32 was bottled in October 2011 with the average age of the wine around 6 years. The Guía Peñín, more or less the Michelin guide of Spanish wines, has given it 96/100. Of this wine, 600 bottles were put aside in the cellars of Equipo Navazos, with the idea to let them age in the bottle for three years and bring to the market late 2014. This is one of the big differences between commercial sherry and authentic sherry: Equipo Navazos is convinced that their wines are better after a few years of bottle ageing, whereas traditionally manzanilla is said to be consumed preferably within three to six months after bottling.

By the way, don’t get me wrong. I have a few bottles of La Guita and Solear (two of my favourite commercial Manzanillas) available at all times. Well-chilled they form a delicious combination with different types of food. But these are daily wines, easy and refreshing, whereas the Equipo Navazos releases are meant to be savoured and treasured.

La Bota de Manzanilla n°32
(15%, Equipo Navazos 2011, 75 cl)

Nose: big notes of chamomile and wild yellow flowers. Over time it evolves towards hazelnuts. A much bigger salinity than you’ll get from commercial manzanillas too. Green olives. Slight yeasty notes, with hints of wet bodega floors and oak. A touch of (dried) fruitiness as well.

Mouth: surprisingly full-bodied. Dry with traces of dried fruits but also a good degree of acidity (lemon). Cashew nuts. Quite some salt. A hint of iodine but very much in the background. Quite a long finish, with the same sweet / sour / salty balance.

Availability: still available in some stores, e.g. BBR and Gauntleys in the UK or Dreier in Germany. I don’t think it will last much longer though. New releases are being distributed. Around € 30 (a bit less in Spain).

Summary: A much bigger wine than your regular commercial Manzanilla, with a heavier body and a wider array of flavours. A must-have for serious Manzanilla lovers. Be sure to hold back one bottle and compare it with the 2014 release.

4

Excellent

Tags: 15%, Equipo Navazos, La Bota

About the Author

Ruben is a Certified Sherry Educator who fell in love with sherry some 25 years ago, but switched to a higher gear in 2013 and started writing about it. Lived in Madrid for a couple of years, now back in Belgium. I also run a whisky blog over at www.whiskynotes.be