A Sherry primer from the master bottlers
It wasn't originally meant to be a commercial operation. It began with a group of friends who knew about the wealth of hidden treasures in the bodegas of Jerez, Sanlucar, Montilla; casks of very high-quality Sherry, sometimes of prodigious age, not being used as part of any active solera system. These friends wanted to savour a few of these casks, so they bottled one privately - and were astonished by the public interest this unleashed. And so was born independent sherry bottler, Equipo Navazos ('the Navazos team'). Through the numbered 'La Bota' series ('Bota' is Spanish for 'butt', the 600-litre casks in which sherry is aged) Equipo Navazos have released a series of sherries of extraordinary finesse and complexity; sherries that represent the pinnacle of their individual styles.
More than any other wine, Sherry is defined by the processes used to make it: biological aging under a film of flor yeast, oxidative aging (i.e. exposed to air), constant blending and reblending in the solera system. Terroir and vineyard tend to get eclipsed in the sherry story, but they are as important for Sherry as for any other wine. It's a point Equipo Navazos seek to make with their La Bota 99, a dry white wine made from the old vines in the Miraflores La Baja vineyard. With no cask aging, flor, or fortification - none of the factors that would normally make a Sherry - the quality of the fruit and the vineyard are laid clear.
Manzanilla is a fresh style of Sherry specifically from the seaside town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. It undergoes biological aging under a film of flor yeast, which imparts a tangy, salty flavour. Like (almost) all Sherry, it passes through the multi-vintage blender that is the solera system. But Equipo Navazos love to experiment; La Bota 101 is a single vintage (2016), single vineyard (Pago Miraflores La Baja) Manzanilla of exceptional character and intensity. Equipo Navazos now also maintain their own solera system which gives rise to the regular releases of the I Think Manzanilla; virtually unfiltered, this has the pungency of the best en rama Manzanilla.
Manzanilla Pasada is a style of Manzanilla in which the biological aging under flor has ended and been replaced by oxidative aging, which introduces some of the notes of dried fruit and nuts that are more typical of an Amontillado. La Bota 100 beautifully combines fresh, salty Manzanilla character with notes of orange peel, dried apricot and cashew.
Fino is made exactly the same way as Manzanilla, but inland at Jerez rather than on the seaside. In Jerez, the hotter climate tends to make a fuller, more forceful style of wine than the more delicate Manzanilla. La Bota 91 is salty, bready, herbal, the epitome of a top-class Fino. It comes from Macharnudo Alto, one of the most highly regarded of all sherry vineyards.
Amontillado is a style of sherry that enjoys biological aging under flor, before being refortified and undergoing oxidative ageing. La Bota 95 is a complex Amontillado that combines flor aromas with nuts, dried fruit and a caramel note that makes the palate expect a sweet wine, though in fact it is salty and bone dry.
Palo Cortado is a cellar fluke and a rare style of sherry. It starts with a delicate base wine intended to become fino, but on which flor yeast fails to grow. Instead, it ages oxidatively. La Bota 92 is a Palo Cortado which beautifully captures the paradox; a fine, complex wine with a remarkably expressive bouquet full of roasted almond and citrus peel.
Oloroso is a style of sherry which has only undergone oxidative aging. In the cellars of Jerez, casks of extremely high quality intended for long aging outside the solera system are marked with a 'NO' (as in, don't touch). La Bota 94 is such a cask, which has enjoyed such prodigious aging that it is now listed as 'más allá del NO', i.e. 'beyond NO'. Extremely concentrated, it is more of an elixir than a wine, intense and massively complex. It is full of diverse and surprising aromas as treacle, salt, roast beef, dried roses and cigar ash. And if you are scared of broaching such an intense sherry, just remember that once opened it will keep for months in the fridge, and can (and should) be enjoyed sip by contemplative sip. /NT
Offered subject to remaining unsold; available now
