Equipo Navazos La Bota 125, Amontillado, Montilla-Moriles, Spain (37.5cl)

Producer Profile

Equipo Navazos was born out of a group of friends’ desire to unearth some of the many treasures lying forgotten in the bodgas of Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, El Puerto de Santa Maria and Montilla… wines whose age and provenance place them among the best value in the world.

These unexpected yet fortunate findings have been made available to wine lovers around the world in limited quantities under the La Bota series (consecutively numbered editions, with the date of each ‘saca’, or withdrawal, on the label)as a mark of respect for the generations of expertise and care that have gone into making these exceptional wines. Today, however, Equipo Navazos’ efforts are increasingly focused on producing their own wines, such as Florpower, which truly express the character of Sanlúcar and its unique terroir. Beyond Andalusia, they have also collaborated with winemakers of the calibre of Dirk Niepoort and Sergi Colet to develop authentic, individual Spanish wines that never fail to impress.

Viticulture

The white chalky soil of the Jerez area, 'albariza,' is ideal for the cultivation of Palomino grapes which produce the sherry for which Jerez is so well known. With a focus on the old vine vineyards of Mirafloes La Baja, Sanlúcar from which their Florpower wines come from. However, experience has shown them that, in the end, the vineyard always prevails regardless of the intensity and duration of ageing, which is why they increasingly tend to limit the latter more and more.

Tasting Note

A very old amontillado in half bottles; with great age and concentration in the style of releases No. 109 and 73 (Equipo’s previous two extremely old amontillados), This Montilla Amontillado stands out as being among the most distinguished traditional Andalusian wines. It is difficult to specify but it is estimated that the average age of the wine is five or six years old. In any case, this wine comes from some of the oldest botas of the winery, forming part of the original soleras.