Saca of February, 2022
D.O. Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda
16,5% alc.
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Production: 3.000 bottles
This prodigious wine comes from a solera of fifteen casks that has become part of the wine heritage of humanity. It 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 a few more that have been celebrated by many wine lovers who are crazy for this superb manzanilla pasada. Under the direction of Eduardo Ojeda, along one decade it was carefully looked after by Capataz Cabo, a man from Jerez working in Sanlúcar who is one of the major exponents of excellence among cellarmasters in the Sherry District.
A feature that contributes to this wine’s singularity and unmatched biological character (intense and steely notes of salinity on the palate) is the way the butts are filled, always with musts coming from vineyards in Sanlúcar, almost up to a tocadedos (within finger reach from the top)—well above the customary 5/6 in the Sherry region. This way, the yeast layer or “flor” (truly weakened now by the wine’s age and lack of nutrients) in these butts is more reduced and can be maintained with those scarce refills. It still performs its function as physical barrier against the wine’s oxidation, but in its diminished state it cannot be fully effective and so this manzanilla offers elegant oxidation notes and a budding rise in its alcohol level, above 16%.
The real average age of La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada 110 “Capataz Cabo” is around 14 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, asian spicy food). Best served around 12º C, in moderately large stemware.
Drunk a few days ago (20th August) at Terra a Vins in Valencia and it's really quite superb, great weight and length yet retaining a lovely purity and freshness and of course a hint of salinity.
"The new bottling of the extraordinary saga of old Manzanilla Pasada 10, 30, 59 and 90 is the NV La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada 110 Capataz Cabo, from a solera filled with wine from Sanlúcar, mostly from the Pago Miraflores, that averages 10 years under flor and a further five years topped up with wine taken from all or most of the barrels in the solera. This bottling has resulted in a very balanced wine with intensity, freshness, complexity and drinkability, very difficult attributes to combine. This is the most complex and nuanced of Manzanilla Pasada before turning into Amontillado. It has gobsmacking precision and purity, defined and clean, laser cut like a diamond. This could be the most elegant and precise of all the bottlings of this wine. Cuts like a knife? No, cuts like a scalpel! 3,200 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2022." 98 pts Luis Gutiérrez The Wine Advocate
