Hidalgo "La Gitana" Manzanilla Sherry

£9.40
Tasting notes
Vivacious and fresh with a very dry, almost briny, finish. Designed to be drunk ice cold and youthful. It goes well with seafood, cheese, almonds and, of course, Manzanilla olives.

Why we recommend this wine
An excellent Manzanilla from a family-owned winemaker; ticks the boxes for us.

The wine
Manzanilla is inseparably linked to Sanlucar de Barrameda, the coastal town sitting at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River. Because the more humid environment in the bodegas here encourages a thicker flor layer, these wines are typically lighter and even fresher than fino, often with a distinctive salty tang.
La Gitana is one of the most iconic brands of Manzanilla and the flagship wine of Bodegas Hidalgo in Sanlúca.
The Palomino grapes for this wine are harvested in the bodega’s own vineyard in the areas of Balbaina y Miraflores, two of the most respected zones around Sanlúcar.
Its solera system, founded in the early 19th century, is made up of 14 scales, with an average age at the time of bottling of around five years. As with most other Manzanillas it used to be bottled somewhat older, but changing market preferences required a light, young Manzanilla Fina.

The wine estate
Bodegas Hidalgo la Gitana was founded in 1792 and since then the company has passed from father to son. Today it is one of the few wine companies wholly owned by the family and run by the fifth generation.
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Food and wine
The acidity and saltiness of Manzanilla make it ideal as an apéritif but it also works well with cold meats and fish. Also see our guide to pairing food and wine here.

Did you know?
The name La Gitana comes from the picture on the label of a ‘gitana’ (gypsy woman), painted for the firm by Joaquan Turina, as an homage to a bar in Málaga run by a gypsy, where Hidalgo’s Manzanilla was particularly popular.