Equipo Navazos was born out of a group of friends’ desire to unearth some of the many treasures lying forgotten in the bodgas of Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, El Puerto de Santa Maria and Montilla… wines whose age and provenance place them among the best value in the world.

These unexpected yet fortunate findings have been made available to wine lovers around the world in limited quantities under the La Bota series (consecutively numbered editions, with the date of each ‘saca’, or withdrawal, on the label)as a mark of respect for the generations of expertise and care that have gone into making these exceptional wines. Today, however, Equipo Navazos’ efforts are increasingly focused on producing their own wines, such as Florpower, which truly express the character of Sanlúcar and its unique terroir. Beyond Andalusia, they have also collaborated with winemakers of the calibre of Dirk Niepoort and Sergi Colet to develop authentic, individual Spanish wines that never fail to impress.

Jerez, in Andalucía’s far south-west, forms a triangle between Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María. The climate is hot Mediterranean moderated by the Atlantic: the cool, humid poniente breeze tempers summer heat, while the dry, scorching levante can accelerate ripening. Rain falls mainly in winter; long, bright summers and low humidity in the bodegas favour maturation. Soils are crucial: brilliant white albariza (chalky limestone with marl) stores winter moisture and feeds vines through drought, while barros (clay) and arenas (sandy) are used more sparingly.

Palomino Fino is the workhorse for dry sherry; Pedro Ximénez (PX) and Moscatel provide naturally sweet wines and blending material. Sherry is raised in seasoned oak via the solera and criadera system, where fractional blending preserves freshness and complexity. Biological ageing under flor yields Fino (and, from Sanlúcar, Manzanilla): bone-dry, saline and delicate, with green apple, almond, chamomile and a sea-breeze edge. When flor dies and oxidative ageing takes over, styles deepen: Amontillado bridges both worlds with hazelnut, citrus peel and savoury tang; Oloroso is fuller and purely oxidative—walnut, toffee, leather and spice. Palo Cortado offers Oloroso depth with Amontillado lift—silky, nutty, orange-zest and fine bitterness. PX and Moscatel are sundried to concentrate sugars, producing unctuous, raisined wines with coffee, fig and molasses notes; they also sweeten Cream and Medium styles. Across the range, Jerez wines combine precision, umami-rich complexity and remarkable versatility at the table.

Palomino is a white grape variety most famously associated with the production of Sherry in southern Spain. Thought to originate in Andalucía, it is named after Fernán Yáñez Palomino, a 13th-century Spanish knight. Palomino is well adapted to the hot, dry climate of the Jerez region and is valued for its ability to produce neutral base wines that are ideal for fortification and maturation under flor.

Viticulturally, Palomino is vigorous and high-yielding, producing large bunches of thin-skinned berries. It is drought tolerant and thrives on the region’s distinctive albariza soils – porous, chalky, limestone-rich soils that retain moisture and reflect sunlight, helping grapes to ripen consistently in the intense Andalusian heat. However, in other soil types the grape can produce rather bland and dilute wines.

Outside Spain, Palomino is also grown in Portugal (where it is known as Listan), South Africa (often labelled Palomino or Fransdruif), Australia and California – though many of these plantings are declining.

In terms of style, Palomino is best known as the base for Fino and Manzanilla Sherries, where its subtle, neutral character allows the influence of flor ageing to shine, giving flavours of bread dough, almonds and sea salt. When made in a dry, unfortified style, it tends to produce light-bodied wines with soft acidity and delicate notes of lemon, apple and saline minerality.