Saturday 1 December 2012

Manzanilla En Rama 1a Saca 2011 15%, Barbadillo

Appearance
Quite deep strawy gold, some depth for a fino, bright.
Nose
Full, soft, broad and yeasty, lots of bitter almond and salinity, a trace of oxidation along with a touch of autolysis and the smell of the beach. Very complex, fascinating and attractive.
Palate
Full yet soft with a trace of the fruit from whence it came, trace oxidation and autolysis mingle with the complexities imparted by the flor, thoroughly delicious if a little short.

Comments
For more detail see notes on the Saca 2012. I tasted these two side by side, and they were remarkably different. The principal reasons, I guess, are that the flor is of a diferent thickness in different seasons, so you get slight changes in the oxidative and yeasty aromas, and that the 2011 is obviously one year older and has one year's bottle age. A fascinating tasting would be to compare the four sacas of one year. I once tasted a (well-stored) Autumn saca 2008 in May 2011 and found it really interesting how it had developed. It was less punzante, slightly more oxidised and much more rounded, still with lots of flor character, aching to be an amontillado but unable. It also seemed to have more glycerol, and traces of apple or quince yet retaining its manzanilla characteristics.

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