Eric Asimov's article on sherry in today's New York Times put me in the mood for some Manzanilla, so I grabbed a bottle while in one of my accounts this afternoon. I was not familiar with the producer, but I figured it was worth a shot at $7.99. The Pedero Romero, Manzanilla, "Aurora," NV showed a classic, oxidative/nutty nose. Manzanilla is a term used for a fino styled sherry produced in the town of Sanlucar de Barrameda. Like all the sherry made at this location, the wine revealed a saltiness on the palate. When describing the sherry from Sanlucar de Barrameda in his excellent book The Wines of Spain, Julian Jeffs wrote that "some people detect a certain saltiness and ascribe this to the nearness of the sea, but this is nonsense: there is no salt in them. It is a fair description, though." I am not really sure how Mr. Jeffs can be so certain that the salty quality of these wines is not related to the nearby ocean. Something must explain why the sherry produced in Sanlucar de Barrameda have this characteristic that is not found in the wines produced in any other town of the region (which all sit more inland). Until I see some hard evidence explaining otherwise, I am going to believe the folklore.
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