Fernando de Castilla Fino Antique - 50 cl.
£27.23 (Inc. VAT bot. 50 cl.) / North Ireland
Fernando de Castilla
Jerez Xérès Sherry
Available in 5 days
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The NV Antique Fino is eight years of average age when bottled; it’s fragrant and perfumed, feminine and subtle, with dry flowers and a rare balance between old and young. The palate shows a much more serious wine, pungent, intense, saline, sharp and at the same time delicate, complex and long, most probably because it’s fortified to 17% at the time of bottling, something that was common in the past, but that almost nobody does anymore. A most unusual old-style Fino. Bravo! 4,000 bottles produced yearly. Drink 2013-2018.
Features
Type of wine
Pairings
Occasions
Winery
Size
Appellation
Alcohol
17.0%
Grapes
Serving
Between 8ºC and 10ºC
Winemaking
Aged with the traditional Soleras system with an average of 8 years old.
Description
A salty breeze wafts through the centuries-old corridors of c, where the Andrada-Vanderwilde family bequeathed their passion for great wines in 1837. In the hands of the Norwegian Jan Pettersen -who revived the bodega in 1999 after years at Osborne- came the audacious idea of recreating an ancestral Fino, with ancient souls and long ageing. Thus was born Fernando de Castilla Fino Antique, fruit of the Pago Balbaina vineyard, on albariza soils with up to 80% active limestone. With a philosophy that shuns the industrial, it is grown without pesticides, bottled without aggressive fining and fortified following traditional practices. Palomino Fino is the only variety present, noble, austere and direct like the terroir itself. An anecdote defines it well: Pettersen separated single barrels from the classic solera and let them rest for five years before starting the final ageing, an act of faith in slowness and purity.
Winemaking
Fernando de Castilla Fino Antique is made by biological ageing under a veil of flor for more than eight years, in a four-stage solera and criadera system, without the addition of yeasts, finings or treatments. After fermentation in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts, it is fortified at 15% vol. to begin ageing under flor. The second fortification at bottling raises it to 17% vol., preserving stability without the need for sterile filtration. The result: a fino of the highest expression, outside the commercial standards.
Taste
Pale yellow in colour with golden highlights, Fernando de Castilla Fino Antique displays surprising complexity on the nose: notes of dried fruits, citrus peel, ripe apple, dried flowers, elegant iodine and a hint of bitter almond. On the palate, it is dry, vertical, with an almost creamy texture and a sharp salinity reminiscent of marsh and hot stone. The acidity is precise and gives tension, while the finish is long, deep, with hints of walnut, yeast, dried camomile and a subtle echo of candied orange. It is a serious, complex fino, to be drunk slowly and with respect. A perfect accompaniment to seafood, Iberian ham or simply an afternoon of contemplation. A rarity that combines power and elegance without compromise.
Shipping to North Ireland
50% discount on orders over £351.64Estimated transit time: 4-5 working days.
| Bottles | Price | Over £351.64 |
|---|---|---|
| 1-6 | £11.34 | £5.67 (-£5.67) |
| 7-12 | £15.38 | £7.69 (-£7.69) |
| 13-18 | £21.54 | £10.77 (-£10.77) |
| 19-24 | £29.45 | £14.72 (-£14.72) |
| 25-30 | £34.20 | £17.10 (-£17.10) |
| 31-36 | £38.24 | £19.12 (-£19.12) |
| 37-42 | £46.15 | £23.08 (-£23.08) |
| 43-48 | £50.55 | £25.27 (-£25.27) |
| 49-54 | £57.10 | £28.55 (-£28.55) |
| 55-60 | £61.36 | £30.68 (-£30.68) |
| VAT included | ||
