Equipo Navazos

Equipo Navazos was born from a single extraordinary discovery. In December 2005, Jesús Barquín, a criminology professor and wine expert, and Eduardo Ojeda, technical director of Grupo Estévez, stumbled upon 65 butts of Amontillado aged over 20 years in Bodegas Sánchez Ayala in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Rather than let these casks disappear into obscurity, they bottled the wines and shared them with the world. That founding moment defined the entire philosophy of the project: seek out exceptional forgotten casks, bottle them with minimal intervention, and tell the complete story behind every release.

• Founded December 2005 by Jesús Barquín and Eduardo Ojeda
• The discovery of 65 aged Amontillado butts in Sanlúcar de Barrameda sparked the project
• Name derives from a traditional Sanlúcar agricultural practice of excavating topsoil to reach aquifer moisture
• Operates across sourcing zones including Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, El Puerto de Santa María, and Montilla

The La Bota series is the cornerstone of Equipo Navazos and one of the most transparent wine collections in existence. Each release receives a consecutive number and carries full provenance details on the label: the source bodega, the withdrawal date, the number of casks bottled, and the total yield. This level of disclosure was revolutionary in the Sherry world, where blending and anonymity had long been the norm. Releases span the full Sherry spectrum, from Fino and Manzanilla to Amontillado, Palo Cortado, and Oloroso, with source bodegas including Valdespino, La Guita, and Rey Fernando de Castilla.

• Consecutively numbered releases with full provenance information on every label
• Sources span the major Sherry styles: Fino, Manzanilla, Amontillado, Palo Cortado, Oloroso
• Production rarely exceeds a few thousand bottles; many releases total just a few hundred
• Withdrawal dates printed on labels allow collectors to track and compare different bottlings from the same cask source

Equipo Navazos sits at the forefront of two of the most important movements in modern Sherry. First, the en rama revolution: bottling wines with minimal to no filtration to preserve the full complexity of the wine as it exists in cask. Second, the revival of unfortified wines from the region, known as Vino de Pasto. These wines, made primarily from Palomino Fino grown on albariza soils, challenge the assumption that Jerez can only produce fortified wine. The project also collaborated with Dirk Niepoort of Portugal on the Navazos-Niepoort white wines and the Florpower series, extending its influence well beyond Andalusia.

• Championed en rama bottling, preserving complexity through minimal or zero filtration
• Pioneered unfortified Vino de Pasto wines from the Sherry region
• Collaboration with Dirk Niepoort produced the Navazos-Niepoort whites and Florpower series
• Range also includes vermouth, spirits (whisky, gin, rum, brandy), and the OVNI unfortified wine

Equipo Navazos does not own vineyards or run a bodega in the conventional sense. Instead, it identifies outstanding casks within existing bodegas and negotiates to bottle them. Grapes used are Palomino Fino and Pedro Ximénez, the two dominant varieties of the Jerez-Xérès-Sherry appellation in Andalusia. The signature soil of the region is albariza, a white chalky earth renowned for its ability to retain moisture during the dry summer months and reflect sunlight onto ripening fruit. Sourcing extends beyond the Sherry triangle to Montilla, where Pedro Ximénez thrives in a warmer, inland climate.

• Operates within the Jerez-Xérès-Sherry appellation in Andalusia, Spain
• Albariza, the white chalky soil of the region, underpins the wines sourced
• Grapes used are Palomino Fino and Pedro Ximénez
• Sourcing covers Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, El Puerto de Santa María, and Montilla