NV La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada No 100
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The next of the single-cask Manzanilla Pasada (80, 60, 50, 40 and 20) is the NV La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada 100 Botas NO, selected from three butts (botas, in plural) to have more volume of the wine number 100. It's a bottling that always had more demand than supply. So, they made more bottles—2,700 half-liter ones and some larger formats. It was bottled in October 2020. Like in previous bottlings, it's bottled at 16.5% alcohol at an estimated average age of 15 years, the first 10 years under flor and the subsequent five with the barrels fully topped up, following an oxidative aging. This has more concentration and extract than the 110 I tasted next to it, but I favored the elegance and finesse of that other one. Still, it's a stratospheric wine, an explosion of concentration, flavors and minerality, a little more oxidative.
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Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
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Bottled October 2020. Fruit from Miraflora La Baja vineyard. This 100th bottling, which coincides with the 15th anniversary of the beginning of Equipo Navazos, is the result of combining the Bota Punta cask with two other outstanding casks from the 1/15 solera at bodega Misericordia, from which all the editions of Bota Punta and Bota NO Manzanilla Pasada have come since the first one (no 20). This has allowed them to make more bottles of this wine, for which they expect higher demand. Their website notes: 'This Manzanilla Pasada is actually close to being a Manzanilla Amontillada, a traditional denomination that is banned from labels. Part of the character of this wine comes from the fact that the casks are filled up to a tocadedos level – well above the 5/6 mark that is common in the sherry district, so the layer of 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 solely on the basis of rare periodic refreshments – acting as barely sufficient barrier between the wine and the intensely oxidising effect of air. On the other hand, its very weakness implies that this protective effect is only a mild one, which is evidenced in the oxidative notes of this manzanilla as well as the rising level of alcohol, climbing above 16%. The average age of this wine is around 14 years.' TA 5.39 g/l, pH 3.14. Pale gold. Stunning aroma that has the complexity of a Manzanilla on its way to becoming an Amontillado. It has all the salty, mineral iodine side of the Manzanilla and the nutty, bitter (completely non-sweet) toffee of Amontillado. Perhaps even heather honey without the sweetness. The taste makes me think of the colour burnt umber. With air it is more intensely mineral. On the palate, this is glorious, with light notes of bitter orange/apricot, a depth of flavour that is quite remarkable given its accompanying delicacy and subtlety. The balance is perfect: so fresh, so intense, it invades your mouth and goes on for ever. The Equipo Navazos team, Jesús Barquín and Eduardo Ojeda, note the versatility of this wine at the table: 'it matches a wide variety of dishes, from the most easygoing (rich fish dishes, fish-based rice recipes, charcuterie) to the most difficult (scrambled eggs with porcini, runny sheep cheeses)'. I could just sip it very, very slowly all evening. (JH)