Blind Tasting - Manzanilla Sherry with Eric Asimov and Peter Liem

Tasted Wednesday, January 13, 2010 by brooklynguy with 762 views

Introduction

San León Clásica was most preferred, then La Bota Nº 16

Flight 1 (4 Notes)

  • NV Herederos de Argüeso Manzanilla San León Clásica

    Spain, Andalucía, Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda

    Three people picked this as their overall favorite - BrooklynLady, Eric, and myself. BrooklynLady thought it was classic dry sherry. Eric liked its salty sea air, tangy quality. He felt that it would have been a perfect Manzanilla except that it wasn't precise, it was a bit unrefined. I didn't care for this wine at first, as I found something like chlorine on the nose, but I came back to it several times over the course of the flight and I was captivated by the combination of ripe appley fruit and brisk saline character. Peter liked it too but felt that the alcohol stuck out a bit.

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  • NV Emilio Lustau Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda Papirusa

    Spain, Andalucía, Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda

    This was Mateo's favorite wine and Peter listed it 3rd. Mateo thought it was classy and sophisticated, "like a woman who wears pearls but doesn't feel old." Peter called it "super-classical," and liked its salty, tangy finesse. Eric liked it least of all the wines, finding it's Manzanilla elements to be buried underneath oak aromas and flavors.

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  • NV Gaspar Florido Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda Manzanilla Pleamar

    Spain, Andalucía, Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda

    This wine was quite rich without having the underlying character necessary to hold one's interest. Mateo called it "fool's gold." Eric found it to be sedate and not complex. I liked the way the rubbery notes played with the rich brown sugar notes on the nose, but the wine simply didn't follow through on the palate.

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  • NV Hijos de Rainera Perez Marin La Guita Manzanilla

    Spain, Andalucía, Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda

    I found this wine to be too sweet, with a spicy caramel aspect that dominated the palate. It was Mateo's least favorite - he said it was going in too many directions. Eric liked the subtle spicy flavors, but thought the alcohol stuck out. Peter thought the wine was delicious, but said that he would not have guessed it to be Manzanilla - it was too round and rich, more like a Fino, he said. By the way, a few days before the tasting I drank this wine over two days and loved it.

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Flight 2 (4 Notes)

  • NV Equipo Navazos La Bota de Manzanilla 16 "Navazos"

    Spain, Andalucía, Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda

    Peter loved its amazing texture, its complexity, and its umami/meaty notes. He said that the wine made him hungry. Eric thought it was analogous to the San León Clásica, with a tangy petrol complexity. This wine really stuck out for me in the tasting, so much so that I had a hard time with it. It was much bigger and richer than the other wines. The nose was spicy and showed some caramel notes, something like rubber too. It was bold and savory, and I liked it, but I couldn't reconcile it with the other wines we tasted. The funny thing is that I drank this wine last summer at Keith Levenberg's BBQ and it seemed sheer and light next to the La Bota de Fino Nº 15.

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  • NV Pedro Romero Manzanilla Aurora

    Spain, Andalucía, Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda

    Peter found the wine to be exotic, reminding him of soy and roast pork, like Chinese food. As with the La Bota wine, Peter noted and appreciated the character imparted by the old wines in this blend. Eric found this to be the most vinous of the sherries, and liked its nuanced and low key brininess. I sampled this wine the next day, by the way, and it was seamless and perfectly harmonious.

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  • NV Bodegas Hidalgo Manzanilla La Gitana

    Spain, Andalucía, Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda

    delicately floral and a bit musky, and I enjoyed the whiff of tangerine I was getting. Mateo found it to be juicy and salty, and thought of it as a sassy black sheep among the other wines. BrooklynLady thought the finish was delicate and delicious. Eric thought that the wine was too young, that it was not yet evolved.

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  • NV La Cigarrera Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda Flawed

    Spain, Andalucía, Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda

    Flawed.

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