Manzanilla Pasada, “La Bota 110”, “Capataz Cabo”, Sanlúcar de Barrameda

The solera from which La Bota #110 was sourced has a distinctive and somewhat unorthodox history of maintenance. Named after a legendary cellarmaster in Sanlúcar, Capataz Cabo, who looked after this solera for over a decade, its barrels are filled up to just a few fingers’ width of the top rather than the 5/6th capacity typically employed in the region. This higher fill engenders a lighter and more tenuous flor—one which still blankets the wine, yet which also allows for achingly slow oxidation over time, thereby creating a long-aged (“pasada”) manzanilla of astonishing complexity and delicacy. This gradual oxidation also causes an evaporation which raises the alcoholic strength over time to 16.5% from the 15% to which it was originally fortified. Bottled in February 2022; 3,000 bottles produced.