Started in 2008 by a group of mad keen sherry fiends, Equipos Navazos, has quickly cemented itself as the go-to for small-batch, well-thought-out artisanal sherry. Their I Think Manzanilla, has been a shop favourite since it hit our shelves. All their sherries are drawn from bodegas across Jerez, Sanlucar and Montilla and represent a variety of styles such as Manzanilla, Fino, Palo Cortado, Oloroso, Pedro Ximénez, Cream and the odd brandy. Interestingly enough, they've tried their hand non-fortified wines and just released a sparkling and a white wine.
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The sparkling is a collab with Sergi Colet and came about when the two were contemplating the cross-over between Champagne and sherry (soil types, ageing... etc). Regardless of how it came about, it's THE perfect aperitif fizz that we'd happily drink ALL.DAY.LONG (maybe with some cheese and charcuterie please). Their white wine is actually the OG 'sherry' wine before it gets fortified. It's 100% palomino grapes so keeps things super fresh and approachable â that low abv really lets those floral notes shine without dampening that oyster-shell salinity vibe we all love in this type of wine. P.S. this wine and many like it will evolve the longer it stays open. So, if you're interested and have enough will power not to drink it all in one sitting, pop it in the fridge after opening and enjoy it over a couple of days.Â
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Besides the non-fortifieds, we're super stoked to have three sherries â Fino, Manzanilla and Pedro XimĂ©nez â which are all very true to style but are drawn from a solera ageing system. This means more aging (they sit around for eight years or so) which yields a heap more complexity. They're also only fortified to 15% rather than the usual 18-20% so you get a stack of aromatics that often just get lost amongst the booziness.
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As for pairings, our very own sherry-heads (Amanda and Lou) weighed in and they reckon you can't go past pairing the Manzanilla with some freshly shucked oysters, the Fino with a plate full of olives, tinned fish and dilly beans (there's tomorrow's lunch sorted!) and they'd have the PX with a chocolate flourless torte or Grandma's Christmas pud. It's a toss up.Â