Tuesday 24 November 2015

Manzanilla 5/41 15%, Alexander Jules

Appearance
Deepish strawy brassy gold with the faintest copper tints and moderate legs.
Nose
Forthcoming and attractive with pronounced damp, dank flor notes, a distinct slightly salty maritime character and early hints at autolysis: a well aged Manzanilla not quite pasada but heading that way. There is a suspicion of savouriness in the form of light oily butteriness, sourdough and olive brine. Lovely.
Palate
Bone dry and clean with a decent acidity which gives length. Plenty of bitterness from the flor and a certain weight which combines with that tangy oily almost fishy savouriness to produce a serious, characterful, nuanced and delicious wine which could only come from Sanlúcar. It has a strong appetising effect and I could drink this all night!
Comments 
Not unlike Equipo Navazos, Alexander Jules Russan seeks out seriously interesting parcels of Sherry and has them bottled en rama in small quantities for sale mostly in the USA. This wine is made from grapes from the Pago Hornillo near Sanlúcar and comes from Juan Piñero's bodega Playilla de la Red. It is a selection of 5 butts from a solera containing 41 and there are 8 crideras. Bottled in May 2015, the wine is 8-9 years old and was aged in the traditional dynamic sanluqueño way with 8-10 sacas per year which gives the wine terrific freshness. The bottle is the heavy "Jerezana" and is sealed with a 2 inch driven Diam (guaranteed no taint) cork, offering a good opportunity to give the wine some ageing - if you can resist it that long.
Price
20 Euros - and well worth it.

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