| Region of production: | Jerez-Xérès-Sherry |
| Winery Location: | Jerez de la Frontera (Cadiz) |
| Year Established: | 1960 |
Vineyard Holdings
N/A
Top Wines Produced & Inaugural Vintage
- Fino En Rama: Inaugural vintage (of bottling) 2013.
- Fino Antique
- Amontillado Classic
- Amontillado Antique
- Pedro Ximénez Classic
Average Total Production
- N/A
Summary
Fernando de Castilla in its modern state is considered a part of the “new” Sherry—focusing on smaller production and quality minded winemaking with a nod to Jerez’s traditional methods. Fernando Andrada-Vanderwilde, whose family had been involved in winemaking for more than 200 years, founded the original bodega in the 1960s. He acquired some old cellars when Pedro Domecq dissolved and brandy soleras from Marqués del Real Tesoro. The company originally focused on brandy for several years, operating as Fernando III. In 1972, the company was renamed Fernando de Castilla. In 1999, the company sold to a group of investors that included Norweigan Jan Pettersen—a seasoned veteran with 16 years formerly at Osborne. Pettersen took the reins in 2000 and expanded the operation with the purchase of the almencenista José Bustamante’s cellars and many of his old soleras.
Fernando de Castilla now specializes in unblended and unfined sherries, made in an old-fashioned and bolder style. The house produces wines in two ranges: their classic range, and their higher end Antique range. Petterson philosophically does not agree with the Consejo’s VOS and VORS labeling system, and no wines are labeled as such.
Style & Vinification Techniques
Pettersen’s aim with Fernando de Castilla is high-quality and bolder styles of Sherry, often single solera. The Classic range’s wines average two to nine years of age, while the Antique range includes wines up to 30 years old. The Fino En Rama is only around six years of age at bottling, while the Fino Antique is made in a bigger and more bold style, acknowledging the Finos of the past. It is bottled at a higher average age of nine years, minimally filtered, and the wine is fortified twice: once before the solera and again before bottling. The Pedro Ximénez of the Antique line is sourced from the bodega’s oldest solera, around thirty years old.
Producer Website: Fernando de Castilla