Equipo Navazos La Bota 111 Manzanilla Florpower MMXVIII

Equipo Navazos is perhaps the most significant thing to have happened in the world of Sherry for a very long time. It has some of the most influential people in the fine wine world raving about the quality of these wines, and they are talking about the quality first and the fact that they are Sherries second. These are wines to make Sherry sexy again. They are also as rare as hens’ teeth and are being sought after with the same urgency that wealthy Burgundy collectors seek out the wines of DRC or the greatest Montrachet. This makes sense: these wines are every bit as profound, deep, long and complex as any bottle of DRC (and that is no insult to DRC!)

The Navazos Sherries are drawn from several bodegas, and represent a variety of styles: Manzanilla, Fino, Palo Cortado, Oloroso, Pedro Ximénez, Cream and even a brandy. The wines are bottled in limited series, in successive numbered editions, dated and named “La Bota de….” (the cask of…). The date of each saca, or racking, has been precisely stated on the label so that it is possible to compare editions of the same solera. This also enables precise tracking of the evolution of the wines, as these wines are expected to evolve in the bottle (it’s Sherry, but not as we know it). These are once off bottlings and once the bottles for each La Bota… release are spoken for, there are no more.

Other Reviews....
The young and tender 2018 La Bota de Manzanilla 111 Florpower MMXVIII was shy and austere, but after bottling (it was bottled in February 2022), it was a bit dizzy in the nose, but the palate shows much better, like many of the 2018 wines I had seen in other bottlings. It's a cooler year with balance and freshness and aging potential. Drink 2022 - 2027.
94 points
Luis Gutiérrez - Wine Advocate (Sep 09, 2022)