“Bota Punta”, saca of December, 2017
D.O. Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda
16.5% alc. – 50cl
Hijos de Rainera Pérez Marín
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Production: 1,000 bottles
This prodigious wine was never bottled until Equipo Navazos selected it in 2008 for its 10th release of ‘La Bota de…’, followed two years later by edition number 20 “Bota Punta”, and then for a few others in different years. Then there have been a few very limited releases until in December 2017 we have launched La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada 80 “Bota Punta”, again from a single cask of very peculiar character, located at the extreme of the solera. This is a very special wine that takes the astonishing quality of the previous releases of this wine (editions 20, 40, 50 and 60) to an amazing level of finesse and chalky minerality.
What makes this wine truly unique and gifted with unmatched biological character (intense and steely salty notes on the palate) is that the butts are filled up to “a tocadedos” level—well above the 5/6 mark that is common in the Sherry district. In this fashion, the layer of yeast/flor inside these butts (much weakened by the age and lack of nutrients of the wine) is significantly smaller and thinner and can be kept alive on the sole basis of scarce periodic refreshments—acting as barely sufficient barrier between the wine and the intensely oxidizing effect of air. On the other hand, its very weakness implies that this protective effect is only a mild one, which is evidenced in the elegant oxidative notes of this manzanilla as well as the rising level of alcohol, climbing above 16%.
The real average age of this wine must be around 15 years. It is a complex and powerful wine, of balanced freshness and elegant oxidation notes that make it truly unique. Stunningly versatile on the dinner table, it matches a wide variety of dishes, from the most easygoing (rich fish dishes, fish-based rice recipes, charcuterie) to the most difficult (scrambled eggs with boletus edulis, runny sheep cheeses). Best served around 12º C, in moderately large stemware.