Manzanilla La Gitana, is made from Palomino Fino grapes that are carefully cultivated in white soils of albariza, (+80% calcium carbonate) very precious to obtain very fine and high quality musts.
Bodegas HIDALGO LA GITANA was founded in 1792 and since then the firm has been passed down from father to son. Today it is one of the few family-run wineries in the region, managed by the eighth generation in the direct line of the founder.
Don José Pantaleón Hidalgo founded Bodega Hidalgo in 1792, when he bought a small storage cellar from Don Roque Vejarano. However, it was during the 19th century that the company grew to become one of the most important Manzanilla producers in the world.
The name alludes to its star product, "Manzanilla LA GITANA", endorsed by several relevant international awards, it is the most popular Manzanilla in both the national and international markets. The winery uses grapes from its own vineyards, located in the Balbaina and Miraflores estates, considered to be the best in the region.
The grapes come from the "El Cuadrado" estate, located in the historic Balbaina Alta estate. It is considered to be one of the estates with the greatest Atlantic influence of all the Upper Jerez estates.
The must obtained from this estate has the perfect characteristics for ageing Manzanilla, which is largely responsible for its peculiar salinity. The wines enter our soleras which date back to 1792 and spend three years in the Bodega de San Fermín, in the lower quarter of Sanlúcar, where the exposure to the river is direct (300 metres from the shore).
After the three years they pass to our main Bodega de San Fermín for a further two to three years, where they are refined and polished in the large barrels which date back to the beginning of the construction of the bodega and which have never been moved from their original location.
During all this time (5-6 years) the wines have gone through the Criaderas and Soleras system, always under the continuous care of the Flor veil that makes this wine a miracle and protects it from oxidation.
The fact that San Luis is the closest Cathedral winery to the River/Atlantic means that the flor is thicker than in any other winery in the area, and that is why our manzanilla is characterized as the finest of the finos and manzanillas.