On our return from Jerez I called round to Geoff’s to drop off some ham and was pleased to be greeted with a glass of the above.
I thought we had blogged it before – but no – although I’m sure we’ve tried it. Medium yellow, notes of honey and hay on the nose, savoury, sharp and short but with some body. The sort of manzanilla you would get in a bar in Sanlucar if you didn’t specify a brand. TWS sell it (at £8.95 which is a decent price for a full bottle) Waitrose have halves at £5.95. (Williams & Humbert Alegria Manzanilla).
[Geoff: The WH website states that this is from the Balbaina vineyard (pago) , one which is closer to El Puerto de Santa Maria therefore more exposed to the sea, or poniente, winds. The result is fresher, lighter wines. There is a revival in interest in these sherry terroirs which is good for the region; we may have moved on from grandma’s birthday tot of cream sherry. I hope so.]
The grape variety Fruilano was called Tocai Fruilano but in 2008 the name was banned after complaints from the Hungarians. It reverted, in north east Italy, to Fruilano. It is also known as Sauvignon Vert as well as Sauvignonasse. The Chileans thought they were growing Sauvignon Blanc but they were growing Sauvignonasse/Sauvignon Vert. It is not related to Sauvignon Blanc but is a variety from the Gironde in SW France. Are you still with me?
Back to the wine. Majestic sell Sirch’s Fruilano from the Fruili Colli Orientali hard by the Slovenian border in NE Italy; it costs £12.99. Coolish and high, these hills don’t get the warmth from the Adriatic that more southerly vineayrds get.
The appearance is a very pale yellow, the aromas are of faint lemon, sweet blossom and, slightly, apple. There was a faint candy floss note coming through. The palate was quite complex – acidity, some minerality, salinity – and the finish was medium length and dry. Good value and interesting to try but not if you’re expecting a Sauvignon Blanc or a Tocai. Which you wouldn’t be, because it isn’t either – see above.
…drunk in September. Last Sherry of the holiday, a recently bottled en Rama manzanilla from Marin, the well known La Guita, now without the string round the neck and a screwtop, still not common in the region.
Fresh but with plenty of body, quite broad but detailed with hay and salt notes, very long and very nice, €8.5 from Licores Corredera.
This is an unusual and rare wine, bottled I think, for a Spanish sherry club, Contubernio. However there is some in the retail trade. Mine came from Sanlucar and I’ve seen it in Jerez. Unusual because it is a vintage – 2016, and because it is bottled sobretables (the literal meaning is tabletop), that is from the top row of barrels, not the bottom. It is also 17%, rather than the usual 15%.
A deep golden yellow, and a big nose of very ripe, sour, apples. The taste is rich and broad, with hints of oloroso, caramel, acidity. Very long and mouth filling. A million miles away from manza served in bars which is typically pale and linear. Delicious. (Manzanilla La Callejuela Pago de Macharnudo 2016.)
A few weeks ago we tried, and liked, a bottle of the above, purchased from Spanish Wine Direct. When in Sanlucar I bought a half bottle (€3.50) and opened it last night. Was it better, worse, etc, given the different bottle size, potentially different bottling dates, and so on? Short answer: no idea. Looking back I see we had found a shy nose but a rich full flavoured taste, both of which the above had. But more than that I couldn’t recall although the point of the solera system is that the bottles should be identical. It when very well with some Iberico jamon, the price of which has greatly increased since our last visit, to around €12 for 100g. (Barbiana manzanilla).
With my tasting buddy sojourning in Jerez (and sending back a plethora of information about local wines, well worth reading) I am left high, but not quite dry, at home. Tasting solo. And tasting solo is not as much fun. However, I was tempted by a Nippozano Chianti Rufina 2019 from Tescos (pizza accompaniment) made by Frescobaldi. R. pointed out he has blogged it previously but not favourably.
Chianti Rufina is the smallest of the seven sub-zones of Chianti DOCG (which doesn’t include Chianti Classico btw) and possibly the most well known. Rufina’s altitude and distance from the coast make it subject to big variations in temperatures, the climate is the most continental of the sub-zones. Its soil is limestone. Stainless steel ferment but some later barrel ageing. 13.5% ABV.
Appearance: ruby red, slight purple, clear. Nose: initially gentle, sour red fruits (cherry, raspberry) fresh, all primary flavours. Palate: acidity, freshness, ripe red fruits with some black fruit notes, med/long dry finish, light, some drying tannins. Overall: a simple but well made wine, flavourful. Fair value at £15.
[Richard: we did taste a bottle from this maker in 2014. The bad 2010 vintage, ‘tannic, acidic and short’.
…and another from Luis Perez. Not much wine in the photograph but it is a deep, dark, red. A dark nose as well, not giving much away. The taste was much better on day 2 when the wine became both fruitier and spicier with a balancing acidity which made it easy to drink. Rather overpriced at €21 from another very good wine shop, De Albariza in Sanlucar. (Tintilla Carrascal, 2019.)
On Wednesday I went to Mantua (1*), in central Jerez, for lunch and had the (mostly excellent) tasting menu with a sherry flight accompaniment. Generally the wines were well suited to the food and progressed from finos/manzas to amontillados, to olorosos to sweet wines. All wines were served in wine glasses, not sherry copitas.
In the first group were the following:
Both excellent, especially the Riva which we have blogged before. And always good to see wine in a magnum. Food here was carrot and cumin, fish soup, frozen foie gras and caviar, all in very small portions.
Next came:
The Fossi, from magnum, was especially good, long and complex. I’d never heard of Leon Domecq (there are other Domecqs making sherry) even though the bodega is only a couple of streets from our apartment. Another complex drink and, looking at their website, a expensive one as well. Matching foods were dried meat tartar, rabbit, sea anenome fritter and a tuna salad, also snack sized.
There was one Palo Cortado which, as I recall, went with a superb Jerusalem artichoke and mushroom soup, duck ‘cannelone’ and monkfish. A lovely wine and one to look out for, also new to me.
Next came oloroso:
This was the only comparative disappointment, being rather simple and lacking much interest. It accompanied octopus and some delicious venison.
There were four small desserts, briefly raspberry and chilli ice cream, peach and rhubarb, lemon verbena and orange crumble, chocolate, coffee, sweet potato. Wines were:
I’m not much of a PX fan but in one way this was the wine of the day, made in a ‘golden’ style it was light, had a wonderful peach nose and moderate sweetness. A revelation. The moscatel was overshadowed by comparison.
Conclusion: interesting and enjoyable. I’ve not mentioned all the courses (there were 20) and I’ve probably got some of the combinations wrong but it was good food and good wine, well matched.
Another fino-not-sherry, this one made by Castillo de Guzman, a co-op in Trebujena, north west of Sanlucar. This is one of the towns which, under the new regulations can now age as well as produce ‘sherry’, rather than fino. Big colour and big flavour, hay and chamomile on the nose, quite broad and accessible to taste with a bitter finish. Clean and long. Better on day 2. From Corredera, on offer, so €4.28 for 50cl.
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Another 100% Palomino, this one made by Miguel Domecq, who also make Entrecheulos Chardonnay, a wine seen in loads of bars and restaurants and a wine we have already tried in Albores, a good tapas place in the town centre.
This wine was a deep yellow, strong Sherry like nose and a big flavour, more so than the Gallo below all of which made me prefer it. However it didn’t have the complexity of the best versions. From Corredera, €15 (Torre de Ceres, 2020, 12%.)
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