Wine of the Week

Manzanilla Deliciosa En Rama, Saca de Primavera 2022 (Bodegas Valdespino)

 D.O. Manzanilla - Sanlúcar de Barrameda

Variety - 100% Palomino Fino

ABV - 15%

€9,50 from Bodeboca 37,5 cl.

Bright gold liquid. A nose showing both subtlety and complexity with aromas of ripe apple as well as pear, quince, stone fruit and sweet almond, underpinned by scents of yeast and dough.

On the palate it’s dry, intense, pungent, savoury and briny, yet also lifted and textured. There’s freshness and tension, and a long and persistent finish. 

This is Valdespino’s quite wonderful Manzanilla Deliciosa En Rama, Saca de Primavera 2022. 

But what is an en rama style of sherry, and what makes it so distinct and compelling?

En rama wines are drawn straight from the solera cask and are bottled with minimal filtration or additional treatment. This normally takes place in the spring when the flor, the layer of naturally occurring yeast that forms on the surface of biologically aged sherry wine, is at its most active.

When you drink an en rama sherry you are engaging with the natural characteristics of the wine, the aromas of the cask, and the unique microclimate of the bodega in which it has been aged.

Valdespino is one of the oldest bodegas in the sherry region, with its commercial activities recorded in books and documents dating back to the year 1430.

Now part of the larger José Estévez group, Valdespino are known for the terroir-driven character of their wines made with grapes grown on their own vineyards.

Although based in Jerez de la Frontera, Valdespino also sustain their historic links with the town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, the only area permitted to make Manzanilla wine. Since 2007 the iconic Manzanilla La Guita has also been part of Grupo Estévez.

The grapes for the Manzanilla Deliciosa En Rama come exclusively from the coastal Miraflores pago in Sanlúcar.

This Manzanilla is aged under flor for an average of six years in the Misericordia bodega, a historic building in the barrio alto of Sanlúcar dating from the 16th century, that is oriented towards the Atlantic breezes. There is just one saca - bottling from the solera - in spring each year. Only a limited quantity of half bottles is available.

As a way into en rama sherry, the Manzanilla Deliciosa En Rama is as good a place as any to start. And for less than €10 it’s about as close as you can get to being in the bodega and tasting a sherry straight from the cask.