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Sherry on the rise: Attention must be paid
Sherry, a triumph of Spanish winemaking, is at last on the rise, yet it is not being dumbed down. If anything, it is the complexity of the best that adds to their rewards. Glasses in which you can taste the sea, the almond groves, and even evolving and downright split personalities.
A private group of aficionadoes, winemakers and critics decided to celebrate this national treasure by seeking out the finest odd bin butts in sherry country. They watched them evolve and then issued small exclusive bottling under the name “Equipo Navazos.’’
Those I saw were all pale from green straw to a light tawny, but their bouquets were full of more color and complexity than a Pedro Almodovar movie .
La Bota de Palo Cortado ($99.99, 375ml)
Equipo Navazos has brought about 20 to market, and B-21 seminarians were lucky to taste four. One was a delicate Fino and another a sea-breezy Manzanilla. Then, confusions set in.
By all rights, these two sherries are separate from nutty Amontillado and caramelized Oloroso. That’s too simplistic for a shape-shifting, gender-bending millennium.
So Equipo found a Manzanilla Pasada #10, ($54.99) a very old Manzanilla so tasty it’s almost cross-dressing as an Amontillado, a delicious conflict you can taste all the way through.
Their richest oddity was La Bota de Palo Cortado #17, ($99,99, 375 ml) and a complete trans-gender, seeming both Fino and Oloroso. Think of it as a nutty caramel distilled into a fine brandy.
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