Equipo Navazos: the treasure hunters of Jerez

Equipo Navazos is a collaboration between two sherry enthusiasts: Jesús Barquín and Eduardo Ojeda. Jesús is a professor of criminology at the University of Granada and a passionate wine writer; he contributed to Peter Liem's ​​"Sherry, Manzanilla & Montilla" and published a book on Rioja. Eduardo Ojeda is the technical director at Grupo Estévez, the company behind Valdespino, among others, and one of the region's leading players.

Two sherry enthusiasts, then, who felt it was a crying shame that sherry wasn't getting the attention it deserved. The bodegas were littered with barrels of decades-old, complex wines that no one cared about anymore. Wines that were once crafted with care, but ultimately gathered dust because they weren't commercially viable. A visit to Bodegas Sánchez Ayala in 2005 was the final straw . There, they tasted a series of old amontillados that were magnificent, but would never see the market because the volumes were too small for a solera. Together with a group of friends, they bought one barrel, bottled it, and that was the beginning. Since then, 133 different bottlings have been released.

It was only fitting that Equipo Navazos be featured in the sherry corner of our pop-up store – open only in December. Read more about the Equipo Navazos sherries we offer below.

Hot tip: you can also find all the info and more on their website . Super informative.

Equipo Navazos la Bota de Manzanilla Florpower MMXVIII Nº 111

Manzanilla from Pago Miraflores Baja, 100% Palomino from a single vintage (2018). More than 5,000 bottles.

For this wine, they used La Bota de Florpower No. 97 as the base: a vino de pasto aged for a year under flor. The wine was then lightly fortified and aged for another three years under flor to become manzanilla. Is it a sherry or a white wine? You can decide for yourself after the first sip. I say: fine line. Perfect with a pan of mussels or cold-smoked salmon.

Price per bottle: 36.95 (whole bottle)

Equipo Navazos La Bota de Manzanilla Nº 113

Average age: 7 years. Over 5000 bottles.

A little more manzanilla than the previous one. Salty and cheerful, they say. And I couldn't agree more. Equipo Navazos also offers serving suggestions: mackerel potatoes , tuna stew, but also with toro sashimi, marinated herring, and mussels.

Price per bottle: 32.95 (whole bottle)

Equipo Navazos La Bota de Fino Nº 115

Palomino from Pago Macharnudo Alto. Average age: 8 years. 5,000 bottles.

For this palo cortado, the duo collaborated with Pérez Barquero, in my opinion one of the best producers in Montilla-Moriles. They selected a single cask and bottled it, hence the incredibly small production run. It's a sherry with an average age of 30 years. A-ma-zing.

Price per bottle : 54.95 (whole bottle)

Equipo Navazos La Bota de Viejo Cream Nº 79

Very very old cream, 950 bottles

There's cream, and then there's cream. Cream sherry was one of those sherries grandmas used to love. Uncomplicated and deliciously sweet. Sure. But this is different. This is a top-shelf cream sherry. Centuries old. The sherry was probably blended with PX a century ago. So the sweetness has completely melded with the aged notes. Still sweet, but also incredibly umami.