Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana - Manzanilla en Rama NV
Price: $38.00
| Producer | Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana |
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Jerez |
| Varietal | Palomino Fino |
| Sku | 011874 |
| ABV | 15.00% |
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The origins of Hidalgo La Gitana go back to 1792, when José Pantaleón Hidalgo bought from his father-in-law, Roque Vejarano, a small storage winery in Sanlúcar de Barrameda's Barrio Bajo, close to the river Guadalquivir. It was José's son, Eduardo, who first launched Hidalgo as a top producer in Sanlúcar. The name, La Gitana, comes from an anonymous gypsy woman used to sell Hidalgo’s wine at her bar, locally known as “el vino de la gitana." When the winery started to sell the wine in bottle in the early part of the 20th century, Hidalgo not only maintained the name but also illustrated the label with the image of a gypsy woman, based on a painting that still hangs in the winery’s offices.
The house remains independent and family-owned: Today, the eighth-generation is at the helm of this historic Bodega. Hidalgo La Gitana relies entirely on its own vineyards in two of the best pagos of the region: Balbaína — in between the sea and Jerez — and Miraflores, the great Sanlúcar vineyard. They own almost 200 hectares of vines, all organically farmed.
The Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla En Rama — a style of Manzanilla or Fino that is drawn straight from the solera and bottled with little to no fining, filtration or stabilization — is a special bottling that has been produced only since 2011. Twice a year — once in the spring and once in the fall, when the flor is at its thickest — Hidalgo takes wine straight from the solera and bottles a small release with minimal treatments, resulting in a Manzanilla that is more concentrated, complex and intense. Brilliant mid-lemon color with intoxicating aromas of chamomile, dried herbs, sea spray, flor and dried nuts. The palate shows a striking depth of flavor with remarkable length and purity; soft and round with flavors of apple skin, dried pear, hazelnut, salt and a healthy dose of flor. Stunning for its complexity, richness and depth.
