Region
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Coastal town at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, the only place where Manzanilla may be made. Maritime influence produces a fresher, saltier sherry style.
What it is
Sanlúcar de Barrameda is a port town at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, about 25 kilometres northwest of Jerez. One of three corners of Marco de Jerez. Famous for two things: it is the only place in the world where Manzanilla may be made, and it was the launch point for Columbus’s third voyage (1498) and Magellan’s circumnavigation expedition (1519).
Manzanilla
Manzanilla is sherry with its own DO (“Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda”) and may only be aged within the Sanlúcar municipal limits. Grape: Palomino. Production: nearly identical to Fino in Jerez (biological ageing under flor). The difference is the climate: maritime influence, higher humidity, lower temperatures, a thicker and more stable flor layer. The result: saltier, fresher, sharper style with more maritime notes.
Soil and climate
The albariza soils of Sanlúcar are structurally identical to those of Jerez but are under constant influence from the poniente (westerly sea wind). Humidity is almost always higher than in Jerez. The effect on the flor (the yeast veil over the wine) is direct: more food, a thinner layer of oxidation, fresher sherry.
The major bodegas
- Barbadillo: largest Manzanilla producer, known for “Solear”
- Hidalgo La Gitana: “La Gitana” Manzanilla, one of the best-selling sherries in the world
- Argüeso: “San León” Manzanilla
- Equipo Navazos: small-scale project around exceptional sacas (drawings) from old soleras
- Williams & Humbert (with a Sanlúcar site)
Sherry style from Sanlúcar
Manzanilla is the calling card. But Sanlúcar also produces excellent Amontillado and Olorosos that you can often recognise by their fresher, saltier character compared to their Jerez counterparts. Manzanilla Pasada is the bridge between Manzanilla and Amontillado: extra-long biological ageing followed by the start of oxidation.
Bonus: La Bota
Based in Sanlúcar, the well-known project Equipo Navazos under Eduardo Ojeda and Jesús Barquín bottles rare sacas from old soleras under the “La Bota” series. One of the most important recent movements in sherry.
Signature grape