Equipo Navazos La Bota 125 de Amontillado Viejísimo “Bota NO”

Equipo Navazos, the project of Jesús Barquín and Eduardo Ojeda, seek out exceptional old casks hidden in Andalusian cellars and bottle them under the La Bota label. La Bota 125 is a very old Amontillado from Montilla-Moriles, where Pedro Ximénez rather than Palomino forms the base and the limestone-rich albariza soils give wines of weight and length. Amontillado begins life under a veil of flor yeast, which protects the wine and adds a saline, yeasty note, before the flor dies and the wine continues oxidatively in cask. Over many decades of this oxidative ageing through the criaderas and soleras system, slow exposure to air converts the wine, deepening its colour and concentrating it as the volume reduces through evaporation. The result is dry, savoury and intense. The nose shows roasted hazelnut and walnut, dried apricot, old oak and a deep umami character. The palate is concentrated and bone dry, with pungent nutty depth, a salty tang and a finish that runs on for a long time. Serve cool but not cold in a white-wine glass. It suits hard mature cheese, cured ham and rich savoury dishes.