LA MANZANILLA, the best wine in the world

What is “the truth”? I do not know, but without passion, the truth does not matter.

We do not know very well why we are fond of drinking one or other wines. I imagine it depends on many factors: age, taste, experience, character ...

But it seems most people love Manzanillas more or less late, and maybe, therefore, they want to recover lost time, drinking without compassion, and not attending to the sanitary recommendations of drinking in moderation. Without a doubt, Manzanilla is the face more youthful, cheerful, fresh, direct, festive ... and the only wine in the world that can face the powerful champagne without fear and without complexes. Although the champagne acidity makes us feel eternally young, the Manzanilla sapidity transmits all the energy of the sea, and makes us feel alive, deep and powerful. You go gradually entering the world of Manzanillas, and there you stay, enjoying, or you can't even want to leave it.

After this brief reflection I consider that every restaurant should have 6/8 different Manzanillas, 2-3 bottles, which is simply in quantity and investment the equivalent to a single wine, of the several that they usually have, from Rioja or Ribera. But in case you still have some doubt, we will comment on the news of the region, and the offer that currently they can offer you.

Manzanilla, like the rest of Jerez wines, is a wine that is very fashionable. We have gone from those terrifying popular sayings (had to drink very cold, just bottled and only in its region), to be cult wine of the most advanced sommeliers of anywhere in the world.

Jerez, logically including Sanlúcar de Barrameda, is quite possibly the wine region that more has been revalued in recent decades. And they have their motives: they are very original wines,
practically worldwide there is nothing similar; They have very attractive prices, simply very cheap for its very high quality; they are very long-lived, another virtue of great wines; and they are very versatile, offering many possibilities of pairing for long tasting menus.

The second half of the 20th century was chaotic, a real disaster at almost all levels, to the point that Jerez was equated with poor quality wines. Fortunately, in the last 15-20 years, and thanks to the constant work of great professionals, the Jerez's rebirth has been brilliant and bright. Reconciling tradition and the present, and with an eye on the future, Jerez is once again one of the best wine’s area of the world (because of some winemakers).

They learned from their ancestors the value of albariza soils and to live with the constant influence of the sea, transmitting to the wines a salinity and iodized character unparalleled in addition they created a system of elaboration, “Criaderas y Solera”, perfect to solve the great differences between vintages, typical of the most extreme regions to climate level and they understood alcohol, so negative in other types of wines, using it with such mastery that is a fundamental part of the magic balance of the Sherry wines. And let's not forget that they were able to keep old boots that over time have become authentic treasures.

The transformation of Jerez feels when we walk their vineyards, we visit their wineries, we talk to foremen and winemakers, we taste their wines ... The vineyards are again important, as they were centuries ago, and it seems that this madness of greatness has already passed builders, to tear them off to build housing developments. Macharnudo, Carrascal, Añina, Balbaina, Maina, Miraflores, the other Balbaina ... they sound so good and are respected as much as Cannubi, Richebourg, Rayas, Craighall ... Jerez has once again become part of the elite of the best vineyards in the world. And the vineyards begin to work with the respect that is deserve, with less use of chemicals, more naturally ... We are aware that the relationship between small farmers and large farmers must be readjusted in Jerez wineries, which will only be achieved by placing the quality of their wines in international value, which should lead to an increase in the price of grapes.

The human part, whether we like it or not, is key to transforming a region. To all levels, from large wineries that specialize to the smallest, to vignerones that they dream and are in perfect sync with the earth. And he goes back to the past to understand the present and be able to face the future properly. Who could think 25-30 years ago that the most important wines would be made by sunning the grapes, as was done historically, and not heading them with alcohol; that palomino dry wines were going to resurface, which can become the economic salvation of the region; that wines from payments, without intermingling with others; and vintage wines, without using the Criaderas y Solera system ... Jerez is reinvented thanks to a group of young friends, extraordinary teachers they have reviewed their history from a critical point of view, and have reached the conclusion that the road to maximum quality and international recognition passes necessarily for a return to what was traditionally done, before it broke wildly the industrialization of wine.

Again, as in the past, we found a great diversity of Manzanillas, with a quality and an unknown character in the last 20-30 years. All of them are very different from each other, even if they are made in the same town, Sanlúcar de Barrameda; with the same grape variety, Palomino and with the same processing system, Criaderas y Solera. Drinking them is a great pleasure. Finally, alcohol is not the dominant note, and it subtly accommodates a multitude of saline, iodized, floral sensations ... They are simply at the height of the best white wines in the world. And therefore, they are wines to eat, to a whole meal, not just for the appetizer. It must be drunk in a glass of wine, not in the sad “catavinos”, at a temperature between 8ºC and 12ºC, and no colder as usual. It is not necessary to decant. Its optimal consumption moment is from bottling to at least 6-8 years, although they evolve very well for 15-30 years.

But without a doubt the best thing is its pairing. Because it's the type of wine, next to the champagne, it works best with almost all of the dishes. It is a perfect pairing with all seafood products (clams, prawns...) in any type of processing (battered, fried, boiled, raw ...), Iberian acorn-fed ham and loin, salted and almonds, Sushi and Asian cuisine in general. And it works very well with fish and seafood rice, grilled vegetables, cured cheeses, not very sweet desserts, even not very meats powerful. Or just alone, without food, with friends, before or after eating, on a nice sunset, looking at the stars ...

And finally we want to show our gratitude to four professionals who, from different points of view, they have been able, with their work and vision of the future, accompanied by some others, to place Manzanilla in just 15/20 years as one of the great wines of the world. They are Eduardo Ojeda, Antonio Barbadillo, Armando Guerra and Ramiro Ibanez. Thank you guys.

Eduardo Ojeda is the most important person in the renaissance of Jerez wine.
12-15 years ago, with their partner Jesús Barquín, they founded Equipo Navazos, which was an
authentic revolution in the commercialization of Jerez wine; since thanks to the highest scores obtained in all international guides, Jerez became a wine World class. La Bota are small bottled, coming from different wineries, they represent all the diversity and quality of Jerez. Eduardo Ojeda is also the director Valdespino coach, therefore the keeper of Soleras as mythical as Amontillado Colisseum, Palo Cortado Cardenal and Moscatel Toneles. But now I want to talk about his great work with Manzanilla. We recognize the great transformation of La Guita, thanks to a selection draconian, which has again become, after very mediocre decades, a young Manzanilla of reference. But we highlight the great work in Navazos, currently offering us an awesome range. The classic Manzanilla, Navazos, made in Sánchez Ayala, with grapes coming exclusively from the Balbaina Pago, it is a masterful selection of solera boots and Criaderas to keep their peculiar style strict, bluntly mixing youth and maturity. Three Manzanillas (Capataz Rivas / Cabo, Bota No, Bota Punta), very different from each other, but coming from the same Solera of 15 boots, with a very special energy, from the cellar of La Guita on the street of Misericordia. And two special bottling bottles, La Bota Florpower, very young vintage and Pago Manzanilla, and the Pasada Magnum, full bottling of a barrel that was going to Amontillado.

Antonio Barbadillo is convinced, and he tells you with such assurance that it is difficult
refute him, that Manzanilla is the best wine and Sanlucar the best city in the world. His life it has always been linked to wine. For years he worked in the family winery, Barbadillo, where he participated in the creation of wines as emblematic as Solear in Rama and Reliquias. Now he works alone and makes the wines he likes, selecting some boots in different wineries.
It is the great author wine of Sanlúcar, but what an author! They are unique, unrepeatable wines, since for each bottling tasting all the boots, select the ones you like, and then take out
each one of them the amount it deems appropriate, without starting from any preconceived idea.

I am convinced that each bottle represents its entire life. Lately in Jerez many, maybe too many, start working as Antonio Barbadillo The idea is not bad, but if someone with knowledge and experience does contrasted. The sad thing is that the usual is exactly the opposite, wealthy entrepreneurs and third division sommeliers bottle with little judgment, just looking, even more than the economic benefit, the exaltation of his ego and his personal aggrandizement. But all this, as you imagine, it is a real chaos, and fans and sommeliers have the responsibility to defend serious work and quality, regardless of fashions and friendships.

Antonio Barbadillo is not so young, nor so cool, nor so wealthy ... but I will never forget the first time I drank his first take out of Sacristy AB. I thought it was a perfect wine, of 10, with no option to 9.9. I am totally convinced that all his editions of Sacristy AB Magnum, just 200 bottles, are a real treasure, a wine of a character. Awesome. A vertical of these magnums is an unforgettable tasting.

Armando Guerra, with his exceptional tasting cycles in his Taberna der Guerrita, and with Innoble, an alternative fair to Vinoble, it has become, in just a decade, a Jerez wine reference. He was among the first to defend Jerez from a context global, international, because he knows all the great wines of the world and knows that Jerez does has nothing to envy. Now, outside the Taberna der Guerrita and its little one personal projects, works in Barbadillo.

To talk about Manzanilla is to talk about Barbadillo. In 1827 Barbadillo used for the first once the denomination "Manzanilla" for a shipment to Philadelphia, and that same year launches the market the first bottled Manzanilla, Divina Pastora, brand recovered by Barbadillo in the
2017 (removed from Divine, perhaps because now religion is not at its best).

Barbadillo owns more than 500 hectares of its own vineyard, and controls another 500, that is, more than 1000 hectares of a total of 6000 hectares throughout the Denomination. It has many vineyards and many grapes to choose from.

The coupling between Barbadillo and Armando Guerra has been carried out with great
precision, and in 2-3 years they have achieved that the range of Barbadillo Manzanilla is
extremely powerful. Knowing him, I am convinced that news will emerge.

The classic Solear maintains its serious and austere style, and although it maintains its faithful, perhaps the new times do not favor it. Exactly the other way around that the Sunny Seasonal Take Off in Rama (Solear Saca Estacional en Rama), for me the most important wine in the history of Sanlúcar, which with its complexity and depth captivates more fans every day.

Levante and Poniente is a fun game and wonderful to see the diversity and grandeur of a century-old winery. Manzanilla Pastora is a masterpiece that in just 2-3 years is already one of the 4-5 best Manzanillas. It intensifies the freshness without losing maturity, the alcohol is rejuvenated, and the sea appears, the flowers, lime ... and sapidity, and iodine are feminized.

Just a few weeks ago Barbadillo has taken a new Manzanilla, Trinidad, the youngest and most cheerful version, with a short aging of 3-4 years, but without losing seriousness, more direct and immediate, perfect to start in quality Manzanillas.

Ramiro Ibáñez is an extraordinary leader. A leader of the S.XXI, generous, who likes help those who need knowledge. He is innovative, independent, hardworking and outside of the mediocre competition. A true revolutionary who has upset the reality of the wine of Jerez in force in the last 3-4 decades, so humble and intelligent that flees at the speed of the ray of egocentrism and media glamor. For me it is the link between a group of friends who are the real authors of the current revolution of Jerez wines, and all wine lovers worldwide we must be eternally grateful.

It is a pleasure to meet and admire Ramiro Ibáñez, Willy Pérez, Armando Guerra, Paola Medina, Primitivo Collantes, the Blanco brothers, Alejandro Muchada ... I am convinced that only with the passage of time can we assess properly this great revolution.

Ramiro has no weak points, in everything he is number one. In the countryside, in the vineyard, among strains, he is as relaxed as “Juan for his vines”, is his natural habitat. In
viticulture is a friend, respects and learns from the work of the mayetos, small farmers to
often forgotten, which have transmitted the value of the land from generation to generation.

In winery orders and classifies boots as the magician plays with his cards, and has a lot to do with the wines of Primitivo Collantes, Callejuela, Juan Piñero ..., are so extraordinary and
recognized by experts At the informative level we have to talk about their extraordinary
tastings with Willy Pérez, detailing, crumbling, all the edaphological wealth of Jerez, accompanying it with extraordinary wines that demonstrate the greatness of each historical terroir and the imminent departure, also with Willy Pérez as co-author, of a book that will become immediately in the "Jerez Bible."

But now let's talk about Manzanillas. Ramiro Ibáñez is technical director of Bodegas Juan Piñero, and therefore the author of two extraordinary Manzanillas, Maruja and Maruja Pasada.

I remember perfectly that the first time I drank Maruja I was struck by her verticality, her
cleanliness, purity ..., represented a new style of Manzanilla. In the Maruja Pasada we go from 8 years to 14 years, and the sensations change, the tension softens, the calm and placidity, invites you to reflection, to glimpse what will be a great Amontillado.

With Isolina Florido, daughter of Gaspar Florido, she is part of Viña Armijo, a winery that works a vineyard of 33 hectares, monopoly (exclusive of the winery) next to the Pago Miraflores Alta. So far, they have only sold a dry white, 12 Liños, but it is imminent the departure of two Manzanillas in July, and for September of the unforgettable 30GF and Ansar Real. The latter is for me the best wine in the history of Jerez, each sip has all the eternal energy of Gaspar Florido.

With Willy Pérez he shares La Riva, a project that is beginning, they only carry marketed four wines, but that will soon become the absolute reference of Sherry. His Oloroso Balbaina Baja 3/8 for me is the wine of the year 2018, the best among thousands of great wines and two Manzanillas, La Fina coming from Miraflorres and Balbaina Pasada, two absolute successes in two segments and concepts very different.

Ramiro Ibáñez's personal project is Cota 45. He markets three ranges of very different wines, innovative, tremendous, unforgettable. The Ube (Miraflores, Paganilla, Maina Carrrascal) are the best palomino dry wine in the history of Jerez.

The Agostado (Palo Cortado and Raya) elaborate how oxidants were vinified in the 19th century, sunning instead of heading and mixing native varieties, forgotten today by the
Palomino supremacy. The Pandorga (PX and Tintilla de Rota) shows us that there are others
types of sweet wines, which almost resemble a German, auslese 20-25 years of
Palatinate than a pasty PX from Jerez. Ramiro's fourth line will be Manzanillas and recently we saw the greatness of them.

Just the beginning of a great story…The Sherry renaissance…a re-evolution story.