Equipo Navazos, La Bota No 130 Manzanilla Pasada, Jerez, Spain

Producer Profile

Equipo Navazos was born out of a group of friend’s passion to share the authentic, traditional wines of Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, El Puerto de Santa Maria and Montilla … legitimately some of the greatest wines of the world!

These wines come from soleras and individual casks that remain, relatively neglected by the market in corners of many of Andalusia’s most prestigious bodegas. These unexpected yet fortunate findings have been made available to wine lovers around the world in limited quantities under the La Bota series (consecutively numbered editions, with the date of each saca or withdrawl date on the label) … in doing so respecting generations of expertise and care for these rare and beautiful wines. Today their efforts are increasingly focused on producing their own exceptional wines, such as Florpower, that truly express the character of Sanlúcar and its unique terroir. Outside of Andalusia, Equipo Navazos have collaborated with winemakers including Dirk Niepoort and Sergi Colet to develop authentic and individual wines that never fail to impress.

Viticulture

The white chalky soil of the Jerez area, 'albariza,' is ideal for the cultivation of Palomino grapes which produce the sherry for which Jerez is so well known. With a focus on the old vine vineyards of Mirafloes La Baja, Sanlúcar from which their Florpower wines come from. However, experience has shown them that, in the end, the vineyard always prevails regardless of the intensity and duration of ageing, which is why they increasingly tend to limit the latter more and more.

Winemaking

This prodigious wine comes from a solera of fifteen casks that has become part of the wine heritage of humanity. It was never bottled until Equipo Navazos selected it in 2008 for its 10th release of 'La Bota de...', followed two years later by edition number 20 "Bota Punta", and then a few more that have been celebrated by many wine lovers who are crazy for this superb manzanilla pasada. A feature that contributes to this wine’s singularity and unmatched biological character (intense and steely notes of salinity on the palate) is the way the butts are filled, always with musts coming from vineyards in Sanlúcar, almost up to a tocadedos (within finger reach from the top)—well above the customary 5/6 in the Sherry region. This way, the yeast layer or “flor” (truly weakened now by the wine’s age and lack of nutrients) in these butts is more reduced and can be maintained with those scarce refills. It still performs its function as physical barrier against the wine’s oxidation, but in its diminished state it cannot be fully effective and so this manzanilla offers elegant oxidation notes and a budding rise in its alcohol level, above 16%. The real average age of La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada 130 “Navazos” is around 13 years.

Oak Ageing

Tasting Note

This is a complex and powerful wine, of balanced freshness and elegant oxidation notes that make it truly unique.

Food Matching

Stunningly versatile on the dinner table, it matches a wide variety of dishes, from the most easygoing (rich fish dishes, fish-based rice recipes, charcuterie) to the most difficult (scrambled eggs with boletus edulis, runny sheep cheeses, asian spicy food).