Sanlucar de Barrameda is not the kind of town that shouts “welcome”. It may not even feel like you are being welcomed at all. The bus station is quiet with only the woman at the concession stand. It looked like nothing much was going on. Perhaps it was because mid-March is not exactly high tourism season. 

Sanlucar sits at the mouth of the Guadalquivir river on the Bay of Cadiz on the Atlantic Ocean. We arrived in the morning while things were still closed. Meandering down to the beach we reached the boardwalk. The national preserve Doñana is a short ferry ride away. I love towns in the morning before all of the activity starts. We passed people walking their dogs as the day started to warm up. We met an English speaking couple from the UK and we chatted a bit which pleased my husband since he does not speak Spanish.

Later on we visited Barbadillo* which is an old house that has been revitalized. The extensive tour and the tasting we did included a variety of wines. Non-fortified wines from the Cadiz seem to be everywhere and so was the excitement around them.  You could spend a lot of time in this region and never taste a wine from outside of this area. I highly recommend visiting Sanlucar and the entire region surrounding Jerez de la Frontera.

1^a Manzanilla Ecologica Salicornia 1/27
Clean white wine that is closer to wine and not fortified. Wild fermentation. About three years in bottle.

2^a Manzanilla Solear 1/1086
To final stage primera clase. Really generous but shart with typical finish. About six years old.

Toto Barbadilla Espumoso de Albariza (Sparkling)
Palomino Fino and Chardonnay on Albariza soil.

Alba Balbaina 2022
100% Palomino Fino. Six months on the leese. Deceiving nose but like chardonnay on the palate. Very, very good.

Solear Manzanilla
Classic. Popular. Really lovely. Easy. Excellent

Manzanilla Pasada en Rama Pastora
Aged longer than Solear for total of eight years. Color is oxidation. Dry like tea. Some nuttiness comes thru. New word: “hinojoso” means fennel

Amontillado en Rama
Manzanilla pasada aged becomes an Amontillado. Fino/Manzanilla is oxidized. Toffee nose. Nose is aging characteristic. High acidity and finish is super dry. Hazelnuts.

Oloroso en Rama
Slightly more intense nose (walnuts). A little more unctuousness. Aged oxidatively.

Palo Cortado Obispo Garcon
Aged 15 years. Intense, complex nose. Medium. Nutty. Dried Indian spices.

Ataman Vermouth
Manzanilla with a little Oloroso. Beautiful nose. Fucking gorgeous. Gorgeous.

*Discloure: I work in a wine shop and the visit was arranged via the distributor Skurnik Wines.