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Fernando de Castilla
Jerez Xérès SherryHK$ 461.30
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93
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Fernando de Castilla
Jerez Xérès SherryHK$ 461.30
-
93
-
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Fernando de Castilla
Jerez Xérès SherryHK$ 461.30
-
92
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Showing 1 to 5 of 5 (1 Pages)
Buy Wine from Fernando de Castilla
Fernando de Castilla is a sought-after rarity, a serene dissidence in the heart of the Marco de Jerez. In a region where volume and standardisation have left a mark as deep as the albariza itself, this discreet house, located in the heart of the Santiago district in Jerez de la Frontera, has constructed a radically different discourse: that of purity. What is bottled here is not just another Jerez. It is Jerez in its most naked and deliberate form.
The origin - Jan Pettersen and an uncompromising vision
Founded at the end of the 20th century, not out of tradition but out of conviction, Fernando de Castilla was reborn when Jan Pettersen, a Norwegian who had spent years at Osborne, decided to buy a small historic bodega with old soleras and a clear idea in his head: to produce Jerez wines that did not ask for permission, nor excuse themselves in blends or corrections. The inspiration was the Jerez of yesteryear, but without nostalgia. Wines defined by their place, their ageing and their vineyard, without additions, without make-up.
Wines without touch-ups - Authenticity from the solera
There are no artificial headings here, no retouching of the wine to "correct" a weak vintage. The ageing process is respected as a living organism. And that is noticeable from the first sip. One glass of their Fino Antique, straight from the solera, unclarified, unfiltered, is enough to understand that the word "authenticity" still makes sense when taken seriously. The wine has a tense, almost cutting salinity, with that dry, mineral nerve that only old butts in cold, damp cellars give. The veil of flor is not a technique here, it is a philosophy. And if the flower dies, it is accepted. It is left to die with dignity, as in their superb Amontillado Antique, which slips between layers of hazelnut, iodine, orange peel and an austerity more reminiscent of Jura than Andalusia.
The Antique range - Minimalism and depth
The Antique range is their most personal statement. These are wines made in minimal quantities, with no concessions to the label or the casual consumer. There is no easy sweetness here, no complacent finish. The Oloroso Antique is almost brutal in its dryness, loaded with nutty, tobacco and old leather notes, with a structure that is chewy rather than drinkable. It is a wine that demands attention. It does not tolerate distractions.
Off the tourist radar, on the sommelier's radar
One of the great virtues of Fernando de Castilla is that it has been able to move outside the tourist circuit and the mass rankings. He has no big campaigns or overwhelming presence in supermarkets. His wines live on carefully selected lists, in the hands of sommeliers who understand that Jerez can be as complex and expressive as a great Burgundy, if you let it be.
Without its own vineyard, but with absolute criteria
And yet, this is not a winery closed in on itself. Pettersen has worked with specific growers in specific vineyards, searching for the best Palomino, and, when necessary, Pedro Ximénez or Moscatel, without relying on its own vineyards. Because the important thing here is not ownership, but criteria. And the ability to choose the best, year after year, to maintain a level of quality that never drops. This freedom also allows them to play: they produce brandy (among them, a superb Solera Gran Reserva ), and occasionally they dare with limited bottlings that appear and disappear without warning.
"Because it kills them" - An anecdote that sums it up
There is an anecdote that sums up the philosophy of the house: during a visit of importers, someone asked why the wines were not filtered, "to avoid lees". The answer was as terse as it was revealing: "Because it kills them". This way of understanding wine as something living, imperfect and changing -something that breathes and has memory- is what makes Fernando de Castilla a profoundly modern winery, precisely because it refuses to follow fashions.
Jerez with elasticity: meditation, table and character
In an environment where the system of traditional categories(Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso, PX) had become a straitjacket, this bodega has recovered the elasticity of Jerez, demonstrating that it can be both a meditation wine and a table wine, both an aperitif and a finale. It is not a question of reinventing Jerez, but of giving it back its most essential dimension: that of a wine of place, with time and character.
Fernando de Castilla is not the biggest, nor the oldest, nor the most famous bodega. But it is perhaps the most honest. And in a wine world saturated with prefabricated storytelling, that honesty is worth more than ever.
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Buy Wine from Fernando de Castilla
Fernando de Castilla is a sought-after rarity, a serene dissidence in the heart of the Marco de Jerez. In a region where volume and standardisation have left a mark as deep as the albariza itself, this discreet house, located in the heart of the Santiago district in Jerez de la Frontera, has constructed a radically different discourse: that of purity. What is bottled here is not just another Jerez. It is Jerez in its most naked and deliberate form.
The origin - Jan Pettersen and an uncompromising vision
Founded at the end of the 20th century, not out of tradition but out of conviction, Fernando de Castilla was reborn when Jan Pettersen, a Norwegian who had spent years at Osborne, decided to buy a small historic bodega with old soleras and a clear idea in his head: to produce Jerez wines that did not ask for permission, nor excuse themselves in blends or corrections. The inspiration was the Jerez of yesteryear, but without nostalgia. Wines defined by their place, their ageing and their vineyard, without additions, without make-up.
Wines without touch-ups - Authenticity from the solera
There are no artificial headings here, no retouching of the wine to "correct" a weak vintage. The ageing process is respected as a living organism. And that is noticeable from the first sip. One glass of their Fino Antique, straight from the solera, unclarified, unfiltered, is enough to understand that the word "authenticity" still makes sense when taken seriously. The wine has a tense, almost cutting salinity, with that dry, mineral nerve that only old butts in cold, damp cellars give. The veil of flor is not a technique here, it is a philosophy. And if the flower dies, it is accepted. It is left to die with dignity, as in their superb Amontillado Antique, which slips between layers of hazelnut, iodine, orange peel and an austerity more reminiscent of Jura than Andalusia.
The Antique range - Minimalism and depth
The Antique range is their most personal statement. These are wines made in minimal quantities, with no concessions to the label or the casual consumer. There is no easy sweetness here, no complacent finish. The Oloroso Antique is almost brutal in its dryness, loaded with nutty, tobacco and old leather notes, with a structure that is chewy rather than drinkable. It is a wine that demands attention. It does not tolerate distractions.
Off the tourist radar, on the sommelier's radar
One of the great virtues of Fernando de Castilla is that it has been able to move outside the tourist circuit and the mass rankings. He has no big campaigns or overwhelming presence in supermarkets. His wines live on carefully selected lists, in the hands of sommeliers who understand that Jerez can be as complex and expressive as a great Burgundy, if you let it be.
Without its own vineyard, but with absolute criteria
And yet, this is not a winery closed in on itself. Pettersen has worked with specific growers in specific vineyards, searching for the best Palomino, and, when necessary, Pedro Ximénez or Moscatel, without relying on its own vineyards. Because the important thing here is not ownership, but criteria. And the ability to choose the best, year after year, to maintain a level of quality that never drops. This freedom also allows them to play: they produce brandy (among them, a superb Solera Gran Reserva ), and occasionally they dare with limited bottlings that appear and disappear without warning.
"Because it kills them" - An anecdote that sums it up
There is an anecdote that sums up the philosophy of the house: during a visit of importers, someone asked why the wines were not filtered, "to avoid lees". The answer was as terse as it was revealing: "Because it kills them". This way of understanding wine as something living, imperfect and changing -something that breathes and has memory- is what makes Fernando de Castilla a profoundly modern winery, precisely because it refuses to follow fashions.
Jerez with elasticity: meditation, table and character
In an environment where the system of traditional categories(Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso, PX) had become a straitjacket, this bodega has recovered the elasticity of Jerez, demonstrating that it can be both a meditation wine and a table wine, both an aperitif and a finale. It is not a question of reinventing Jerez, but of giving it back its most essential dimension: that of a wine of place, with time and character.
Fernando de Castilla is not the biggest, nor the oldest, nor the most famous bodega. But it is perhaps the most honest. And in a wine world saturated with prefabricated storytelling, that honesty is worth more than ever.