Bodega Callejuela used run by two brothers from Sanlúcar, Paco and Pepe Blanco. In my opinion they are masters of their craft, excelling in both Vino de Pasto as well as biological Sherries. This wine, which is actually called Blanquit**o** and I can’t edit the title, is named after the nickname locals gave their father, being apparently imposing of stature.
Sadly the duo stopped working together (possibly due to a family feud, though the reasons aren’t exactly clear) in 2022 and Callejuela ceased to be. I was lucky enough to be offered a range of leftover bottles through a Sherry group I’m a part of, so I wasted no time snapping a this up!
Depending on where you look, this Manzanilla has aged either 8 or 12 years in the solera system. I don’t know when it was bottled, but my best guess is either 2021 or 2022, so it has seen some additional bottle age on top of that. This wine sits at 15,5% ABV, slightly higher than the standard 15% of Manzanillas, due to age.
The wine is extremely unctuous, being full of that roundness that older Sherries tend to have. There’s barely any acidity here, but the acetaldehyde and saltiness keep everything together. The balance is exceptional, melding primary, secondary and tertiary aromas into a whole which is greater than its parts. For example: The smokiness of the Albariza combines with the leesy dough notes into rye bread and with the barrel notes into a cured meat kind of aroma. It evolves beautifully in the mouth after sipping (if there’s a term that means the opposite of linear, this wine has it) and the finish seems to go on forever.
This is a truly exceptional example of what Manzanilla Pasada can be. It’s such a shame that this stellar bodega is now defunct.
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Bodega Callejuela used run by two brothers from Sanlúcar, Paco and Pepe Blanco. In my opinion they are masters of their craft, excelling in both Vino de Pasto as well as biological Sherries. This wine, which is actually called Blanquit**o** and I can’t edit the title, is named after the nickname locals gave their father, being apparently imposing of stature.
Sadly the duo stopped working together (possibly due to a family feud, though the reasons aren’t exactly clear) in 2022 and Callejuela ceased to be. I was lucky enough to be offered a range of leftover bottles through a Sherry group I’m a part of, so I wasted no time snapping a this up!
Depending on where you look, this Manzanilla has aged either 8 or 12 years in the solera system. I don’t know when it was bottled, but my best guess is either 2021 or 2022, so it has seen some additional bottle age on top of that. This wine sits at 15,5% ABV, slightly higher than the standard 15% of Manzanillas, due to age.
The wine is extremely unctuous, being full of that roundness that older Sherries tend to have. There’s barely any acidity here, but the acetaldehyde and saltiness keep everything together. The balance is exceptional, melding primary, secondary and tertiary aromas into a whole which is greater than its parts. For example: The smokiness of the Albariza combines with the leesy dough notes into rye bread and with the barrel notes into a cured meat kind of aroma.
It evolves beautifully in the mouth after sipping (if there’s a term that means the opposite of linear, this wine has it) and the finish seems to go on forever.
This is a truly exceptional example of what Manzanilla Pasada can be. It’s such a shame that this stellar bodega is now defunct.