La Riva Manzanilla Pasada Balbaína Alta

La Riva Manzanilla Pasada Balbaína Alta is made by Bodega De la Riva in the D.O. Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda, on the Atlantic coast of Cádiz. Winemakers Willy Pérez and Ramiro Ibáñez revived the historic M. Ant. de la Riva house, sourcing Palomino Fino from old vines on the Balbaína Alta pago, where pale albariza chalk soils reflect light and hold winter rain deep in the subsoil for the dry summer. The base wine is fortified only lightly, to around 15 percent, which allows a film of flor yeast to grow across the surface in the cellar. This living veil protects the wine from oxygen and feeds on it, converting alcohol into compounds that give the wine its almond and saline character while the coastal humidity of Sanlúcar keeps the flor thick. After roughly fifteen years the flor begins to thin and the wine takes on a pasada character, gaining weight and a faint oxidative edge while staying bone dry. The colour is bright gold. The nose shows almond, dried herbs, curry leaf and a touch of dried apricot. The palate is dry, creamy and savoury, with a long salty finish. Serve cold at 8 to 10 degrees. Excellent with seafood and cured fish.