What's new in Jerez and Sanlucar

There is no doubting the impact and character that age can imprint on the wines of jerez and sanlucar. The big beasts from the back of the cellar can blow away unsuspecting palates and their power and intensity regularly amaze the critics. Neither is there any doubt that the age old traditional formulas of fino, amontillado, palo cortado and oloroso have a certain magic. For me, though, some of the most exciting wines are from the other end of the scale and from outside the established categories. Wines that are seeking to express the characteristics not of cellar and barrel but of terroir and fruit. To do it they are pushing the boundaries in exciting ways and with some considerable success.

First, and freshest of all, one of the most exciting releases of the year was a selection of six "mostos" from different pagos across the Sherry triangle called the Pitijopos by Cota 45, the label of maverick Sanlucar oenologist Ramiro Ibañez. Mosto is the base palomino wine used as the key material in sherry and manzanilla (and, increasingly, a lot of other wines) and these mostos were selected from six different pagos on four different types of albariza soil. In this first "Volume 1: North to South" they were sourced from locations 50km North to South and 25 km West to East. Trebujena, Sanlucar, Rota, Jerez (Macharnudo), Jerez (Añina) and Chiclana. The result was really fascinating on a number of levels. The differences between the six wines – even between wines from the same neighbourhoods/soil types – were notable and very interesting: some were floral, fruity and aromatic, some were serious and mineral, some piercingly fresh. The exercise was to demonstrate the potential of terroir and of palomino as fruit and for me the argument was won in the most elegant way possible. If you can get your hands on them, future editions are bound to be really interesting.  

Second, the single most intriguing wine I have tried this year is the Manzanilla de Añada 2012 (Saca 1/11). Again with the participation of Ramiro Ibañez, this time in his role as consultant at La Callejuela, the wine comes from old vines on a pago called El Hornillo. The 2012 vintage was of historic quality and a decision was taken not to include it in the criaderas of the bodega. Instead, the 11 botas were set aside and are being “statically aged” (i.e., not in solera) with no mixing of any kind. Each year one of the botas will be selected for bottling (so that, all going well, the last bota will be bottled in 2025). This first bottling was just over two years under flor and had a markedly biological character. More importantly, it is excellent – really youthful and fruitful but elegant, polished and compact at the same time. Although hard to predict, the character of future botas will clearly be different - perhaps more of the effects of biological ageing while the flor survives and then progressive oxidation. Really looking forward to 2/11 later this year! (An honorable mention too to some of the other wines made by La Callejuela - the El Cerro oloroso was my favourite oloroso of the year and the Blanquito Manzanilla Pasada and Casilla amontillado are also excellent.)

Third, I would mention the Encrucijado MMXII. Yet again by Ramiro Ibañez and Cota 45 and another fascinating project. Technically it is not a sherry at all. Although it is 50% palomino, the wine also includes five other autoctonous varieties that are no longer admitted by the DO: Mantúo Pilas, Mantúo Castellano, Beba, Perruno and Cañocazo. After fermentation the wine is aged under flor for ten months and then oxidatively for a further ten months before bottling. The first time I bought it expecting a palo cortado (and its name is clearly a reference to that) but it is unlike any palo cortado you will have tasted. A rich, buttery wine which maybe lacks the fine structure of a classic sherry but offers an intriguing insight into the effects of biological ageing and suggests some fascinating potential.