Gabriela Manzanilla, Dry Sherry, 17.5% (750ml)

Manzanilla Gabriela is the flagship wine of Bodegas Sánchez Ayala in Sanlúcar. It is named after a 19th century singer and dancer Gabriela Ortega Feria. In 1986 the entire firm (then mostly operating as an almacenista with local sales) was bought by entrepreneur Jose Luis Barrero who kept the traditional style.

Sánchez Ayala maintains around 90 hectares of vineyards named La Soledad and Las Cañas in the pago Balbaína Alta. In fact Gabriela is a single vineyards sherry as all grapes come from Las Cañas, the most reputed of the two and already highlighted for its quality in the 1898 guidebook A Treatise on Wines. It is something they didn’t really communicate until recently, but now it’s mentioned on the label.

Gabriela is made with free-run juice only, fermented with local yeasts, then aged for 5-6 years under flor. It goes through 9 criaderas, with 3 sacas a year, and just a light filtering before bottling. There is also an older version Gabriela Oro.