if someone offers you some La Bota 20 Manzanilla Pasada, say yes

originally posted by Tom Glasgow:
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
I experimented with Sherries a few years ago because of discussions like this one. I liked the flavors, but had a hard time dealing with the high abv in the context of a meal. Since - I thought, at least - fino and Manzanilla needed to be drunk up once opened, my wife and I were in the position of polishing off a 15% bottle in an evening, which is too much for us to enjoy, generally speaking. Halves and 500's would be practical, though.

On price, I just don't buy in that range. If wine is your living, in one way or another, then the cost picture changes radically, naturally.
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Certainly, I take both your points. That being said, I don't really see the issue about having to drink a full 750ml of high alcohol beverage in an evening as a reality. El Maestro Sierra, La Cigarrera, Hidalgo (La Gitana), Gutierrez Colosia, Bodegas Argueso, Toro Albala, Pedro Romero, Valdespino, and others bottle a Fino or Manzanilla in 375ml or 500ml. That is some good stuff to choose from in small format right there. Also, I think the need to drink everything in an entire night is overstated. A good friend of mine likes his Pedro Romero "Aurora" on day three from the refrigerator. That's when he thinks it shows at its best.

Also, the buy in for a number of these same producers is quite low. A 500ml of that Pedro Romero "Aurora" would run about $12/btl at retail. A 375ml of El Maestro Sierra Fino is about $16/btl. La Cigarrera Manzanilla, Toro Albala Fino, and Bodegas Argueso Manzanilla in 375ml are all about $12/btl. Gutierrez Colosia Fino is $13 or $14/btl. And these are all good wines.

I understand why you wouldn't want to buy a 750ml bottle of Equipo Navazos at retail for $60, but then that is where restaurants come in. We serve 2 Equipo Navazos wines by the glass at a place I am familiar with. One is $9/glass, the other is $10/glass. Honestly, that sounds seems resonable to me, for again, what I think to be some of the finest wines available from anywhere in the world at the moment.
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Shhh, Cru Beajolais was considered a great bargain and now see what's happened. Of course oxidized wines can separate the ____ from the ___.
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It's different in that sherry drinkers would most definitely benefit from there being more sherry drinkers.

If the price of, say, El Maestro Sierra went up $4/btl that might suck a little bit. But if it were disappearing off shelves left and right, and shipments were brought in more often as a result, that would lead to a demonstrably better beverage for most people in the end, due to the freshness factor.
 
I always wonder what kinds of sherry these American sherry haters have experienced to become like that
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Pretty much all the "best" Sherry you could name, both here, elsewhere, and at the source. I can't tolerate VA. I don't really know what else to say, past that. I can appreciate the quality, but "like" is a word I can't get to. I do own some, because I appreciate that aforementioned quality. But "like?" No, not so much. I wish I felt otherwise, but I don't.

I also hate Tokaji. And Madeira. And the ubiquitously-loved Carlisle, and Grange, and Numanthia. I feel like a terrible person.
 
originally posted by Tom Glasgow:
originally posted by VLM:

How does this keep once it is open?

How does it keep in bottle, unopened?

With Cigarerra Manzanilla, Andre recommends drinking withing a few months of purchase, the sooner the better and to finish an open bottle within a few days.

It would seem that for the Pasada, things might be different.
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See BG and Peter's observations to be disabused of this notion. And I can't imagine you have a problem finishing a bit of sherry over a few days.
Bad enough you don't update your own blog, but keep up with those who do.
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Obviously, you haven't been reading my blog. Updated semi-regularly for a bit now. With Sherry notes, even.

I need more followers. What does that actually mean, when someone follows your blog? I just know I need more. Or something.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
originally posted by VLM:

How does this keep once it is open?

How does it keep in bottle, unopened?

With Cigarerra Manzanilla, Andre recommends drinking withing a few months of purchase, the sooner the better and to finish an open bottle within a few days.

It would seem that for the Pasada, things might be different.
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I'm doing the experiment right now with an open bottle. My guess is that when I return to it it will shine, as it got more layered over the hour I was drinking it yesterday.

I don't think La Cigarerra and La Bota 20 have much in common. The Pasada is (as I am sure you know) basically a Manzanilla Amontillado. Anyway, I don't see a few months deadline here.

Also, this is packed in 500ml, which should make finishing an open bottle not that difficult.

I think it is a small price to pay for some of the finest wines being released anywhere today, but that is just me. The tight allocations now in effect in the NY market would indicate that it doesn't matter what I think, though, and that Equipo Navazos doesn't need my help.

I really think this is an amazing time to be drinking sherry, what with Bodegas Tradicion also on the scene.
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Thanks, I assumed as much, but don't know as the only Manzanilla Pasada I've had was a Hidalgo that was finished pretty quickly. Manzanill and Fino have always been pretty popular in my set here in Cackalack, but I don't know the Bota (unless that is what Jose brought out one time, in which case it was stunning) but will remedy that soon.
 
originally posted by VLM:

but I don't know the Bota (unless that is what Jose brought out one time, in which case it was stunning) but will remedy that soon.
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I would hazard that the wines are very much worthy of your time and attention.
 
Y que dicen los maestros de Jerez sober esta thema?

How long will my Gonzalez Byass Amontillado and Palo Cortado last when open?

I guess I should ask how long they could keep after opening actually, as they tend to last an hour tops.
 
originally posted by Thor:
I always wonder what kinds of sherry these American sherry haters have experienced to become like that
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Pretty much all the "best" Sherry you could name, both here, elsewhere, and at the source. I can't tolerate VA. I don't really know what else to say, past that. I can appreciate the quality, but "like" is a word I can't get to. I do own some, because I appreciate that aforementioned quality. But "like?" No, not so much. I wish I felt otherwise, but I don't.

I also hate Tokaji. And Madeira. And the ubiquitously-loved Carlisle, and Grange, and Numanthia. I feel like a terrible person.
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And there are plenty of otherwise sensible wine geeks who feel the same way. Of course I hate 95% of Chateauneuf and all but one Madeira I've ever tried (though I loved that one).
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
originally posted by Thor:
I also hate Tokaji. And Madeira. And the ubiquitously-loved Carlisle, and Grange, and Numanthia. I feel like a terrible person.
Click to expand...

And there are plenty of otherwise sensible wine geeks who feel the same way. Of course I hate 95% of Chateauneuf and all but one Madeira I've ever tried (though I loved that one).
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And I am happy with many Tokaji and Madeira but don't like sherry or vin jaune. On the edge of "like" are LdH whites and that oxidative marsala Levi poured me once. (Can't just be about VA, though, because I like Musar.)
 
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by Tom Glasgow:
originally posted by VLM:

How does this keep once it is open?

How does it keep in bottle, unopened?

With Cigarerra Manzanilla, Andre recommends drinking withing a few months of purchase, the sooner the better and to finish an open bottle within a few days.

It would seem that for the Pasada, things might be different.
Click to expand...
See BG and Peter's observations to be disabused of this notion. And I can't imagine you have a problem finishing a bit of sherry over a few days.
Bad enough you don't update your own blog, but keep up with those who do.
Click to expand...

Obviously, you haven't been reading my blog. Updated semi-regularly for a bit now. With Sherry notes, even.

I need more followers. What does that actually mean, when someone follows your blog? I just know I need more. Or something.
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Love slaves, I think.

You have a blog?
 
I don't understand some of the rants here. The VA level of a fino or a manzanilla is not high (
 
originally posted by John Ritchie:
Levi, did you get a chance to try #19?
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I have some, but haven't opened it yet. Someone who just gone done sampling every La Bota bottling realeased thus far at a retrospective in London told me that the 19 is amazing.
 
originally posted by Thor:

...
I also hate Tokaji. And Madeira. And the ubiquitously-loved Carlisle, and Grange, and Numanthia. I feel like a terrible person.
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On another board, there was one of those "Whose wines do you have the most of" threads, and it seemed like every other respondent put up Mike Officer. I've never tried 'em.
 
There's confusion between aldehydes and VA, it seems to me - leading to a basic misunderstanding of the wines.
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I don't think I'm confusing the two, but in the interests of my own edumacation I'd be pleased to do some sensory trials to find out. Any thoughts on how I should set that up?

VA doesn't need to be high to be bothersome to me. My threshold is not normal. I've accepted this, with regrets.

Ian, you really owe it to yourself to try some Carlisle. Or you could homebrew your own version: take the most alcoholic zin you can find, add some blackberry jam, add a shot or two of bourbon, and then toss in a dash of nail polish remover.
 
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