Thursday 30 August 2012

Antique Fino 17%, Fernando de Castilla

Appearance
Deepish yellowy gold with old gold highlights, clear and bright with slightly more pronounced legs than usual.
Nose
Dry with strongly saline olive brine notes, a certain creamy yeastiness and slight traces of oak and bitter almond. This is an old wine in pristine condition, and certainly in the realms of the Palmas, perhaps 2 or 3. It seems slightly austere at first, but soon reveals considerable complexity and a little body too.
Palate
Full, very dry with an attractive bitterness and salinity from extended contact with yeast above and below - the saltiness from the flor above, and the slightly autolytic flavours from dead yeast cells at the bottom of the butt. Very complex and crying out for some almonds or Iberico charcuterie.


Comments
An amazing wine, so well nurtured for so long, 9 years in fact. Not totally unlike a Manzanilla pasada, but from Jerez, it is amazingly complex, and lingers on the palate for ages. It comes from a single small solera formed by removing 30 butts from the Classic Fino solera and leaving them aside for 4 years to mature further. The wine undergoes only the lightest filtration before being bottled only once a year. Jan Pettersen, the owner of the bodega, is a huge Sherry fan and is dedicated to producing the finest quality. He decided to take the uncommon step (now) of fortifying the wine again to 17% vol which gives it unique personality and more presence than the usual Finos sold at 15% vol and more thoroughly filtered.
Price
£ 17.95 (50cl) from Drinkmonger

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