NV Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla Dry Sherry Sanlucar de Barrameda (500 mL) 500 ml

The Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla is that rare wine that can check all the following boxes: originate from the best-in-class producer; hit as high as #37 on a Wine Spectator Top 100 list; and retail for a low-enough price to make case-buys a no-brainer. 

Hidalgo is as iconic and emblematic a producer in the world of sherry as Veuve Clicquot is in Champagne. Hidalgo’s specialty, Manzanilla, is a bone dry, almond- and green apple–scented marvel that comes from the coastal city of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. It’s a rare sensation, and one we love revisiting again and again. 

Part of sherry’s mystique is that it beautifully channels its place of origin in a way that few wines can. It wasn’t until we visited Sanlúcar de Barrameda in 2018 and dusted the gleamingly white, chalky vineyard soils from our boots that we realized just how special this wine is.

Before we started our vineyard trek, a hearty Spanish lunch was in order. We had just finished a visit at the 228-year-old Hidalgo estate in downtown Sanlúcar de Barrameda and decided that our heaps of tapas would be incomplete without a couple of bottles of the La Gitana Manzanilla.

We found a couple of seats at an old-school seaside bar, Casa Bigote, and the simply prepared but screamingly fresh food began to emerge. There we were, gazing at the ocean and munching on jamón iberico, olives, and garlic prawns, washing it all down with copious amounts of our ice-cold Manzanilla. 

Truth be told, it’s hard to think of a better match—or a better value—than this icon. We recommend stocking up.