NV La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada ‘Bota Punta’ No.83
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
Bottled May 2018 in 50-cl bottles, only 99 bottles produced. The wine from this Hijos de Rainera Pérez Marín solera 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. Then there have been a few very limited releases until in December 2017 they launched La Bota 80 de Manzanilla Pasada Bota Punta, and then this wine. From a single cask, number 11 out of a solera of 15. The wine is on the border with a Manzanilla Amontillada, a traditional denomination that is banned from labels. The solera has a strong biological character because the butts are filled up to a tocadedos level – well above the 5/6 mark that is common in the sherry district. The layer of yeast/flor inside these butts (much weakened by the age and lack of nutrients of the wine) is significantly smaller and thinner and can be kept alive on the sole basis of scarce periodic refreshments. The average age of this wine is around 14 years. Pale orangey gold. Fabulously salty, nutty aroma but I couldn’t say what sort of nut, even a hint of wild-flower honey, wild grasses dried in the sun, but not sweet-smelling. More salty on the palate, utterly mouth-watering and refined, intensely but subtly flavoured by the flor to give a yeasty sour purity that makes me salivate and want to sip again. The yeast character is very subtle, allowing the minerality to shine. Long, long saline aftertaste, with gentle but evident oxidation in that note of dried grasses. Sheer brilliance. Perfection in a glass: refined intensity and endless aftertaste. (JH)
Critic scores
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
There is great information about each wine on the Equipo Navazos website, and the geeky information for the extraordinary NV La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada 83 Bota NO tells us that "the wine from this prodigious set of casks 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.' Then there have been a few very limited releases until, in December 2017, we launched La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada 80 'Bota Punta,' and then in May 2018, this La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada 83 'Bota NO,' again from a single cask of very peculiar character, number 11 out of a solera of 15. This is a very special wine that shows a particular complexity due to an astonishing balance of finesse and chalky minerality, and roasted dry fruit nuances due to the start of the process of amontillamiento. This Manzanilla Pasada is actually [on] the border with a Manzanilla Amontillada, a traditional denomination that, in our opinion, is wrongly banned from labels." The nose was a little tight, as it had closed down in bottle, but there is great nuance and detail, and the palate is incredible; it has more Amontillado character and power. However, time in bottle tends to polish the edges, and the biological part might come back; perhaps that's why it felt a little tight. In any case, this is an outstanding, truly world-class wine.