Manzanilla Maruja

I enjoyed and drank several bottles of the NV Manzanilla Maruja while visiting the zone. This is a new label from an old solera that used to belong to Terry and was purchased by Juan Piñero who manages to find a good balance between freshness and age. This is bottled with an average age of seven-eight years under flor. It has a fine nose, with chamomile and white flowers intermixed with shy notes of sea breeze, elegant and subtle. The palate is really sharp, very salty and fine like a textbook Manzanilla. They do some ten bottling per year totaling 6,000 bottles. A real bargain.

Juan Piñero bought an old 'bodega' from the early 20th century in Sanlúcar in 1995 and acquired the Maruja solera from Terry. He operated as an 'almacenista' and used to sell wines mainly to La Gitana but has recently started bottling and selling his wines. They have aging facilities both in Sanlúcar for Manzanilla and Jerez for the Fino. They do not own vineyards but purchase must from the Pago del Hornillo a renowned vineyard in Sanlúcar. They stock 3,000 old Sherry casks ranging from 40 to 100 years of age and produce an average of 50,000 bottles per year. Prices are approximated based on retail prices in Spain.

-Luis Gutiérrez-