Now this is interesting. Remember all the fuss about the Gonzalez Byas Tio Pepe Fino en Rama? It was a special bottling of Fino straight from the cask, and it was fabulous.
Sherry like this is normally filtered and fined to stabilize it for commercial release. The great thing about en rama is that the wine is bottled in its natural state, and it’s more intense and a bit more complex. But it does need to be consumed within 4 months of bottling (in this case 15 November was the bottling date).
Well, now Hidalgo la Gitana have made their own en rama bottling of Manzanilla. It’s a lovely wine, and it has been exclusively bottled for Bid For Wine, at the encouragement of MD Lionel Nierop, who persuaded Javier Hidalgo to produce this bottling.
Just 300 bottles are available at £14.75 each, from www.bidforwine.com.
Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla La Gitana En Rama NV
15% alcohol. Very bracing and aromatic with some salty, nutty savoury characters leading to a tangy palate with fresh, intense, nutty, savoury notes. There are complex flavous of hazelnut, citrus pith and a salty tanginess here. A really impressive, bracing expression of sherry that’s highly food compatible. 91/100
I just finished my second-to-last bottle of the Tio Pepe En Rama (bottled at the end of April this year) and while it’s perhaps not as ebullient as it was in early summer, it’s still a lovely drink – plenty of depth and briny energy. What’s supposed to happen to these wines after four months?
Sold! Placed an order within moments of seeing your tweet. These Sherries are boss bunny drinks and stunningly good value.
I have a slightly different but also desirable Sherry in the fridge: a ten year old fino from Gonzalez Byass. If I hadn’t woken up with a cold I’d have had it with breakfast today.
Cheers,
David.
Jamie, these sherries don’t really need to be consumed after four months, but some wineries still say that. They do last, but as any other wine, they change, and the thing is if you like the way they evolve or not.
I’ve had the luck to taste manzanilla and fino bottles from the 40s, 50s and 60s, and they are incredible. The Navazos finos and manzanillas are also ageing well, but the over-filtered products have obviously a lot less stuffing than the real stuff. I’d recommend you to put a couple of bottles away and try them in two or three years…
Cheers!
Hi Jamie
The good Mr Nierop may very well have been instrumental in the production/bottling if this, but it certainly isn’t exclusive at Bid For Wine, us and possibly others are stocking the wine too.
Best
Stewart Travers
Senior Buyer
Cambridge Wine Merchants Ltd
Winners IWC Fortfied Merchant of the Year 2010 & 2011
Good to hear. I was lucky enough to try some Manzanilla straight from the cask at this bodega and I was struck by the slight almost greenish hue it had, when compared to the finished bottled product.
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Time to start pestering the Norwegian importer, I guess. We only seem to get the standard bottling.
I am still drinking the November bottling in mid-May and it is still quite fresh, very drinkable and absolutely delicious with fresh English asparagus