2021 Equipo Navazos "Ovni" Palomino Fino, Andalucia, Spain

ABOUT THIS WINE

A frequently encountered cliché asserts that Palomino Fino, before fortification and aging, is a “neutral” variety of little interest; however, Palomino Fino can clearly evoke its seaside birthplace when planted in a good site, harvested at proper ripeness, and vinified naturally. The 2021 Palomino Fino “OVNI” comes from old vines planted in the white chalk (“albariza”) soils of the historical vineyard Miraflores la Baja in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. It was picked at 11.5% potential alcohol, fermented spontaneously, and aged in steel without any flor development for just a few months—with an early bottling to capture its freshness. 6,000 bottles produced.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

In 2005, a small group of friends and fellow Sherry lovers encountered a surprise during a cellar visit in Sanlúcar de Barrameda: a few dozen casks of a gorgeous amontillado that had been aging for over 20 years, unsold, and which still offered a steely precision that echoed its origins as a manzanilla. Galvanized by this discovery, they privately bottled 600 bottles solely for personal consumption and for sharing with fellow enthusiasts, repeating the exercise twice more the following year with different selections, and gradually commercializing their endeavors on an intimate scale. 

Calling themselves “Equipo Navazos”—navazos is a farming technique used in Sanlúcar whereby topsoil is excavated to allow moisture from the underlying aquifer to reach the surface—the group quickly garnered buzz among Sherry connoisseurs who were floored by the intensity and complexity of these micro-bottlings. Over the years, the group’s reach and production have grown, but quantities of each release top out at just a few thousand bottles—and often just a few hundred.

While their approach may be unorthodox, Equipo Navazos also helps connect the region to its pre-industrial winemaking past: their “Navazos-Niepoort” bottlings—unfortified Palomino Fino from great vineyards spontaneously fermented in cask and aged under flor—harken back to the Andalucían wines of the late 1700s; and they have released several examples of “fino amontillado,” an obscure category no longer authorized to appear on labels, but one with deep historical significance and renown among connoisseurs. Furthermore, their “OVNI” bottlings offer unfortified, low-alcohol expressions of Palomino Fino and Pedro Ximénez given minimal flor exposure, and thereby providing a different lens into this fascinating viticultural area.