Maruja Manzanilla Pasada

The Barrio Bajo de Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz) faces the Ocean, Bajo de Guía already kisses practically with the Coto Doñana bar, in the middle, the mouth of the Guadalquivir river that opens its waters to the Atlantic.


Juan Piñero, a former builder, bought the warehouse that houses 1,600 boots that were from Argüeso, where Manzanilla La Gitana was raised. Piñero now produces the Manzanilla Maruja, the daughter of a Fino who came from Terry and who is now fresher and saltier than his winery “brother”, the Fino Camborio, which spends the personality of the fine wines from Jerez.

The winemaker, Ramiro Ibáñez, chose at the time to mount hens of up to 6 and 7 criaderas something unusual now. Thus, deeper wines are sought, always trying to find differentiating nuances between the fine and the chamomile. Maruja is also the brand of its Manzanilla Pasada, from which it later derives its peculiar Amontillado.


Manzanilla Maruja, made with the traditional Palomino Fino varietal that, in this case, comes from the Pago del Hornillo de Sanlúcar, Albariza lands. It has an average aging of 8 years, with small sacas to favor the long life of the flower veil.

In tasting it presents a luminous golden yellow body. Very dry on the nose, with notes of flower, nuts and salty notes. Persistent in the mouth, it is very fresh and dry, with marine and mineral notes (albarizas), persistent, leaving a pleasant bitter aftertaste that balances the whole.


Ideal complement to seafood from the Cádiz coast, fried fish, shrimp omelets, fried nettle, it is also the ideal pair of aperitifs with nuts and table olives, whose deep aromas recognize common notes.

It is also ideal with ham and other Iberian pork sausages, especially the pork loin. A splash in the stew broth or in the broth rice a la marinera, works miracles. And, of course, it pairs perfectly with almost all flamenco styles, to accompany the joy of some bulerías or to refresh the pain of some soleares.