Manuel Aragón 'Granero' Fino Sherry, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, Spain NV

Bodega Manuel Aragón is a historic bodega and family winery founded in 1795, firmly rooted in the traditional, working-class Sherry culture of Chiclana de la Frontera. Chiclana is an ancient, whitewashed village located in the Bay of Cádiz, 12 miles southeast of the city of Cádiz. Chiclana’s vineyards are the southernmost in the Marco de Jerez. Chano Aragón, the current winery head and oenologist is a direct descendant of its founder, Pedro Aragón Morales. The story of Manuel Aragón is that of a fierce defender of the historical culture of the region and its quality, handcrafted wines.

• Grapes: 100% Palomino Fino 
• Farming: Organic
• Terroir / Soil: The family owns 9HA of estate vines. Fino Granero is produced from estate-grown, organic palomino grapes grown in Pago Marquesado in chalky albariza barajuela soils, platned in 1990. The bodega lies just 800m from the ocean, separated only by pine trees. It also benefits from the Levante wind, a warm current that flows west through the Strait of Gibraltar. Palomino vineyards are planted in chalky albariza barajuela soils in the same direction as the Levante wind. 
• Vinfication: During harvest, grapes are hand-picked in small baskets, directly pressed, and then fermented spontaneously with native yeasts in stainless steel at low temperature. Their Fino Granero solera has been in continuous operation for over a hundred years.
• Aging: After fortification to 15% ABV with neutral grape spirits, Fino Granero spends six to seven years aging biologically under a continuous veil of flor in very old barrels in a bodega located just 800 meters from the Gulf of Cádiz. Manuel Aragón runs the scales in the traditional way, moving the wine through the solera manually, without mechanical pumps, utilizing gravity and the traditional tools of the canoa, jarra, sifón, and rocíador. It is cold stabilized and very lightly fined with bentonite before bottling.
• Tasting Notes: Bone dry, refreshing, electric, salty.