Sanlucar de Barrameda, a historic coastal town in Andalucia, is the home of refreshing, sea-scented Manzanilla Sherry. The town's humid, maritime air creates an ideal environment for the development of flor yeasts – the secret behind Manzanilla's distinctive taste and aroma.
The Manzanilla DO (Denominación de Origen), created in 1933, covers exactly the same geographical area as the Jerez DO – the Palomino Fino grapes that go into the base wine can be grown anywhere in the Jerez viticultural area. What separates the two is the all-important barrel maturation stage, which must take place in Sanlucar.
Located on the left bank of the Guadalquivir estuary, Sanlucar de Barrameda is the northernmost point of the famous 'Sherry Triangle', which is completed by El Puerto de Santa Maria (15 miles south, along the coast) and Jerez de la Frontera (15 miles south-east and inland).
Sanlucar's particular location was critical in the development of the Manzanilla style of Sherry for two reasons. The first is the moist seaside air here, which both encourages prolific flor growth and imparts a gently saline note to the wines. Proximity to the Atlantic means that both summer and winter are less harsh here than in Jerez de la Frontera, so the heat-sensitive flor can survive all year round. This both increases the yeasty, fresh-bread character of the wine and imparts distinctive notes of almonds and camomile (manzanilla in Spanish). The flor also continuously protects the wine from oxygen, preventing it from developing into an oxidative Amontillado or Oloroso style. If the wine is left to age for so long that the flor does eventually die, the resulting wine is known as Manzanilla Olorosa and then a Manzanilla Pasada.
The second reason relates to Sanlucar's strategic value as a port. Not only does the town sit at the very center of Spain's (relatively short) stretch of Atlantic coastline, it also happens to be just 45 miles (72km) downstream from Seville, Andalucia's ancient capital. This made it an obvious base for Spain's explorers to set out on their voyages during the Age of Discovery (both Columbus and Magellan launched voyages from the town), and later as a key transatlantic trading post. As transatlantic trading burgeoned, so Sanlucar became increasingly important. Vast quantities of wine were stored there, and over time the traders observed a subtly different style of wine emerging – the style we now know as Manzanilla.
It has been suggested that Sherry was the very first wine to be commercially exported to the Americas. It is most likely that it came from Sanlucar and Cadiz, another key Spanish port located just a short distance down the coast. When the Anglo-Spanish wars broke out in the 1580s, this part of Spain's coastline came under repeated attack. In 1587, the English fleet captured over a million liters of local wine, significantly boosting Sherry's popularity and profile in Elizabethan England.
In the 21st Century, Sanlucar is no longer the key port it once was. Since the late 19th Century, the local economy has relied almost exclusively on tourism and viticulture (Sanlucar accounts for approximately 15% of all Sherry production). The small town is now best known for its beach-based horse races, flamenco music and (of course) its Manzanilla Sherry. It even has a five-day festival dedicated to the wine.
Although the Manzanilla – Sanlucar de Barrameda DO is distinct from the Jerez DO, both titles are governed by the same Consejo Regulador de Jerez wine authority.
