Specials

95 Points! This is a step up, with lushly textured flavors of crushed plum, currant preserves and mulled black cherry driving along nicely, underscored by licorice, black tea and warm earth. Even with the earthy flash, this stays refined and focused, with latent energy on the finish as well. No rush here, either. Drink now through 2040. - Wine Spectator, 2023

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94 Points! Hailing from a warm vintage that was one of the best in what would otherwise have been a fairly ordinary decade, the 1985 Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon is starting to take on a deep golden appearance, commencing to amber. It offers a gorgeous, suave texture and a very complex nose that's a touch oxidative but that adds a layer of additional intrigue: it's all nuts, raisins, walnuts, olives, warm pastry, cinnamon, cooked orange peel. It's round and sweet (95g/L) but not unctuous with richness on the mid-palate while retaining enough acidity to refresh the mouth on the long finish. A wine that is very comfortable in its own skin, providing a very relaxing experience.

Moulin Touchais produces sweet Chenin Blanc in the Coteaux du Layon appellation. The wines are most often late harvested, although in some vintages - such as 1997 - a high level of botrytis builds on the fruit. What makes the winery special is its late-release policy: the wines must spend a minimum of 10 years in the underground cellars beneath the village of Doué la Fontaine before release. - Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous Media, 2021

 

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Importer notes: When Antonio Barbadillo left the family winery in 2008 to pursue his vision of making a classic style of complex, aged Manzanilla, everyone thought he was loco. But Antonio, along with his wife and four sons, knew that unfiltered, aged wines were the noble investment of Sanlúcar and he wanted to push the limits of what people envisioned of this mysterious, fragile and beloved biologically aged wine. Previously, Manzanilla Sacristía AB was sourced from 32 butts within an 80-butt solera at Bodegas Sanchez Ayala (where the Manzanillas of Equipo Navazos’ La Bota got their fame), the largest independent bottler of sherry. Sacristía is bottled in miniscule sacas, usually two a year and always completely en rama to ensure a maximum and pure expression of flor development and aromatics. As of the Primera Saca of 2014, this base wine has been sourced from sleeping Manzanilla treasures that lie beneath a thick layer of flor in Bodegas Yusta, a dusty old cellar in the backroads of Sanlúcar. In search of the perfect balance for the Sacristia style he has in mind, Antonio tastes wines from a variety of top producers from the most important Pagos and multiple criaderas before selecting his favorites for each bottling. Learn More