First launched in 1999, Barbadillo Saca Estacional Manzanilla Pasada En Rama is credited with being the first ever Manzanilla to be labelled EN RAMA. It is also unique in that it is bottled 4 times a year to coincide with the seasons.
Each of the 4 bottlings (Sacas) take place on the Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice. Flor growth is highly sensitive to temperature and humidity and as a result each bottling reflects the unique character of the respective season. To find the casks which best display the characteristics for each season, Barbadillo’s winemaker, Montse Molina, does a personal selection of casks from the Manzanilla Pasada Solera in the El Potro Bodega (El Potro’s microclimate is perfectly suited for producing the Manzanilla Pasada style). Due to this ‘hand selected’ process, Manzanilla Pasada Estacional is only produced in very small quantities.
This ‘Saca de Otono' (Autumn bottling), was bottled at the Autumn equinox.
To reflect the unique nature of the wine, each Saca label is also unique. Barbadillo select a different animal for each Saca label. Typically, they will chose a bird from the Doñana national park, which is located directly across the Guadalquivir river from Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Doñana is one of Europe's most beautiful and important wetlands. For the ‘Saca de Verano’ (Summer bottling), they have chosen a fish, the Sea Bream, which is common to the Atlantic waters surrounding Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
In the future, we hope to be able to offer a small allocation of each Seasonal Saca
