M. Sánchez Ayala "Gabriela" Manzanilla Jerez

750ml bottle

15% abv

VARIETIES: 100% Palomino Fino

CLASSIFICATION: Manzanilla - Sanlúcar de Barrameda D.O.

VINEYARDS: Las Cañas vineyard in the Pago (wine estate) of Balbaína

VINEYARD SOILS: Albariza – (porous with very high chalk – calcium carbonate content)

FARMING: Conventional

WINEMAKING: Fermentation via native yeasts.

AGING: Approximately 5 years in a system of 9 criaderas.

A Manzanilla sherry with nuances of chamomile, straw, iodine, and mineral notes. Salty, fresh, and very persistent on the finish.

Bodegas Miguel Sanchez Ayala was founded in 1798 in Sanlucar de Barremeda in the very nascent days of the Sherry traditions. (Parenthetically, it was also the nascent days of the United States. John Adams had just succeeded George Washington as President.)  Being one of the first Bodegas of the region came with perks – notably the Las Cañas vineyard and it’s location in Barrio Baja. The Las Cañas site is still the single origin of their wines, which is quite rare in the Jerez Triangle.  The Barrio Baja is the neighborhood best situated in Sanlucar for the formation of healthy flor – the true assistant winemaker in the making of Manzanilla.

The wines here are fermented with native yeast and all are minimally filtered before bottling.  Only free run juice is used. 

There is often debate about whether Sherry is a wine of process over terroir.  But here the focus is on both the traditions of Sherry production but also the history of the great terroir of the Las Cañas vineyard.