Log in for prices and ordering
A sweet Vermouth from Equipo Navazos? Yes, and it's predictably wonderful! From the late 1800s through the mid-20th century, Vermut de Jerez was all the rage in Andalucía. Backed by the likes of Valdespino and Lustau, today the style is roaring back into vogue. Eduardo Ojeda and Jesús Barquín have been perfecting their recipe for several years, and now we have their first release. For the base wine they have chosen a five-year-old Oloroso from a prestigious bodega in Jerez, to which Ojeda has steeped a blend of botanicals including wormwood, coriander, liquorice, elderflower, juniper, bitter orange peel and grapefruit peel, all of which can be found growing wild in the fields and mountains of Andalucía.
With this inaugural small-batch release, Barquín confirms they have already achieved their first objective: “To have a few cases in our personal cellars to enjoy them as an aperitif and to prepare the best cocktails in the world!” We should add that it’s a complex, artisanal, unique Vermouth that blew our socks off. Bottled at 17.5%, it leans to the traditional, spicy-citrus side with measured Oloroso sweetness matched by elegant bitterness. You’ll find notes of sarsaparilla root, walnut skin and warm spice floating out of the glass, backed by an elegant bitterness and long, clean finish with citrus peel notes to the fore.
In Spain, a perfectly balanced wine of this quality would be typically served neat or on the rocks with a slice of orange. If you want to take a leaf out of Barquín’s book, it takes to a Boulevardier or Manhattan like a duck to water. Or why not a decadent Negroni Sbagliato? With only 2,000 bottles made, we encourage Navazos lovers to get on their bicicletas.