Bodegas: Ignacio Fernández de Castro

The youngest of the eight children of the merchant Simón Fernández de Castro and Manuela Gutiérrez de Castro, Ignacio was born in Comillas (Santander) in 1793. He worked his way up the family business reaching the position of captain and undertook many trips to the Americas, marrying Concepción de Bustamante y Padilla in Mexico in 1818. They had eleven children.

With the emancipation of the American colonies in the 1830s, he resolved that his trading future lay in Europe and the east and decided to relocate to Cádiz, the very epicentre of Spanish trade at the time. Then, the trade in wine was growing fast and in 1840 he established a family mercantile business in the city under the name Ignacio Fernández de Castro y Compañia with trade in the Philippines in mind. He soon integrated with local society and by 1849 was president of the board of trade.

Ignacio saw great opportunities: he used his ships to provide an infrastructure of maritime services, built a steam-powered slipway at the Trocadero and owned extensive warehousing, he set up a marine insurance company with Lloyds, and was a board member of the Banco de Cádiz. His principal interests however lay in marine transport of goods and passengers between Cádiz and the Philippines, and his preferred vessel was the clipper.

An amazingly varied list of goods shipped to the Philipines to subsidiary Bustamante

In 1836 he commissioned Vicente Pérez of El Puerto de Santa María to buy at auction an XVIII century bodega complex of 948 square metres in the Calle Aurora, 9, in the Campo de Gia district. Vineyards were also purchased so that Sherry could be produced from vine to bottle under the brand name Y.F.C. He then appointed Calixto García y Habea, an almacenista and wine expert from El Puerto, to manage the bodegas. This worked well, as Ignacio’s company had the means to transport and distribute the Sherry to its various markets. Calixto, along with his partner, Fernando Barreda, maintained their own bodega in Calle Santo Domingo and also used this system which proved very economical.

The business had grown immensely and Ignacio was well organised with various branches round the world, where possible run by family members who could report back. For instance Sherry was sent to the Philippines branch, Bustamante y Sobrinos, without necessarily having a firm order, but Bustamante could make the sales locally and report back on preferred styles. Since it took over three months to get there, the wine had to be well fined, and the local market preferred it no stronger than 18 degrees.

Things were to change, however. The arrival in the early 1850s of oidium, a fungal disease, drastically reduced yields and quality, and prices soared. Ignacio decided to act as an intermediary rather than sell his own wine. At the time Britain was becoming the largest market, and he turned his attention there. He organised routes from the Philippines to Britain with a stop-over in Cádiz, and invested in 55 hectares more vineyard.

By 1860, Ignacio was 67 years old and the problems began to mount. Two important relatives, one running Cádiz and the other running Manila, died, another who took over Manila was useless, and there were ever fewer family members to rely on. His wife was ill, the ships’ captains were no longer family or friends, Calixto García died and his son was difficult to deal with. Competition had increased and a crisis developed because of overproduction of wine and a fall in quality. Steamships were taking over the sea routes and the Bank of Cádiz went bust. Ignacio Fernández de Castro y Cia went into liquidation in 1867 and was bought by Cosens & Co. Ignacio, now an old man, returned to Comillas, his birthplace where he died in 1874 aged 81.

Most information gleaned from Maria del Carmen Cozar Navarro in the book Nueve Bodegueros

Fino en Rama 15% May 2015, Fernando de Castilla

Appearance

Fairly full brassy straw with gold highlights, legs.

Nose

Full, deep, very interesting and attractive with a savoury, distinctly nutty edge. There are some some dry scrub flor notes and traces of straw and polished metal along with slightly buttery hints of oxidation and cabezuela. This is really good.

Palate

Quite intense, almost concentrated, there is a lot going on here. It is very dry and there is a decent tang of acidity and plenty of bitterness, even a trace of salinity, all rounded off by a note of very slightly malic oxidation and contributing to terrific length and a very clean finish

Comments

This delicious wine is a blend of Finos from two soleras: the standard Fino Clasico solera at around 5 years of age and the Fino Antique solera, at nearer 9 years of age, which makes for a very interesting wine. Like all the bodega's better wines, it is entirely unstabilised. Bottled in Spring and Autumn when the flor is at its healthiest, under a screw cap. The firm's first Fino en rama, released in 2013, was for the popular London Sherry bar, Drake's Tabanco. It is nice to have the opportunity to taste the wine a year after bottling - 6 months after they recommend you to have drunk it - and see how well it is developing. I reckon this 6 months thing is just for consumers who might find the wine a bit too intense and not enough like the stabilised Finos they are used to. 

Price

11.70 euros per half bottle from Licores Corredera

9.9.16 Latest on Harvest

With most of the grapes now harvested, a clearer picture of the harvest result is emerging. We have read of the disasters which have befallen some of the French vineyards this year with frost, hail and even fire, but the Marco de Jerez rarely encounters too many problems. This year, however, the weather has been more capricious than usual and the DO yield looks like being 20% down on last year. It began with a very dry spring followed by torrential rain causing the spread of mildew. The hot dry Levante has blown almost endlessly through July and August, and with almost record temperatures much water has evaporated from the grapes.

5 million kilos have already been picked and the Consejo is estimating that the total will amount to 55 million, far from last year’s crop of 76.4 million, and mainly thanks to a hotter and drier than average year. There are two sides to this however; the advantage is that there has been little trouble with insects, allowing very healthy grapes, but the disadvantage is that the Levante and the lack of overnight dewfall have left the grapes somewhat dehydrated. Still, the wind put a swift end to the mildew problem. The drop in production has been very unequal, with almost normal production in some places and large losses in others. Trebujena saw the largest drop.

It is not all bad news for the trade. Excess stocks of mosto at the cooperatives will be used up to balance this year’s shortage and that reduction in stocks will stimulate an increase in the value of Sherry and therefore its price, which will be necessary since the growers had already signed grape supply contracts with the bodegas before the harvest when the forecast was for higher production.

Fino Una Palma 15.5% González Byass

Appearance

Bright yellowy gold with traces of gold and green, legs.

Nose

Fairly pungent flor with an attractive bitterness and traces of almond, sourdough, straw and a trace of dry scrub.The various olfactory components are beautifully h armonised yet it still grabs the nose and insists you drink it.

Palate

Quite intense with  a little more body and bitterness than Tio Pepe, being at least a year older, and very slightly leaner with a decent acidity and a very slightly salty tang which drive the flavour. There is the tiniest trace of fruit there too.It is good and dry with a long clean finish.

Comments

This is the 28/10/15 saca and the wine was selected by Antonio Flores and Michael Schachner, a member of the tasting panel of Wine Enthusiast magazine. It was said to have taken a lot of chalk and shoe leather to select the three best butts out of 142 (numbers 114, 78 and 10) but the result was most successful. 2015 was a fairly mild summer as the hot, dry Levante wind was balanced by the cool, more humid Poniente wind resulting in aromatic elegance in the Finos thanks to there still being a good level of flor. The grapes came from the pagos Carrascal and Macharnudo and the wine spent six years under its velo de flor, and has marked Tio Pepe characteristics, if more intensity.

Price

13.50 per 50cl bottle at Licores Corredera

The Irish in the Marco de Jerez

The legend that is Sherry was built not only by Spaniards but also by many foreigners who came here for various reasons, be they religious strife, oppression, war, famine or plain commerce. The Irish expatriates, who were known as the "Wild Geese", came for all of these reasons but mainly religious strife and oppression. The emigration started in the 1600s, and by the end of the century tens of thousands had left for a safer life in Europe or the Americas where they developed considerable influence. 

Irishmen occupied all sorts of positions in Spain: Richard Wall was secretary of state; Alexander O'Reilly re-structured the army; Henry Reynolds McDonnell was an admiral; Ambrose O'Higgins was viceroy of Peru; John O' Donohue was last viceroy of Nueva Espana; Leopold O'Donnell was a general and politician, and William Morphy was personal secretary to King Alfonso XII. Those who came to the Marco de Jerez also left a lasting legacy.

George Fitzgerald and his wife Mary Tray came to Jerez from County Kildare near Dublin. Their son, Thomas Fitzgerald, born in 1682 in Jerez, hispanicised his name to Tomás Geraldino y Crocquer and owned various vineyards and bodegas. During the reign of Felipe V, Tomás was appointed Spanish ambassador to London and took the opportunity to promote his own Sherry - and that of others - in his 30 years in the job there. Such was his success that Sherry sales increased dramatically. He died in 1755 and his Sherry interests were eventually bought by Manuel Gil Y Garcia forming later the foundation of Bodegas Carrasco Hermanos.

William Terry came from a large family with various branches in Limerick and Cork and their estates were confiscated by Oliver Cromwell around 1650 because they were Catholics. William arrived in the Jerez area close to the end of the XVII century and set up in trade. Before long he was prospering and owned vineyards, producing wine for export to the Americas. He was famous as a breeder of Cartujano horses and received many civic titles. The firm, based in El Puerto, was latterly known as Fernando A de Terry and lasted till the Rumasa takeover in 1981, later becoming part of Harveys, itself now owned by Emperador. Another branch of the family established Carlos & Javier de Terry, also in El Puerto and latterly known as Bodegas 501 to avoid confusion. These were great firms but not much is left of either of them now.

Felix Harrison arrived and settled in Sanlucar in the late XVII century and established the family as one of the leading cargadores a Indias, dealing in Sherry among other goods. The name was hard for the locals to pronounce and after a while the firm became the Casa del Marques de Arizón.

Henry O’Neale arrived in the area around 1712, having left Tipperary for the same reasons, and fought as a mercenary on the continent. He began a successful merchant business specialising in wine in El Puerto de Santa María which, through successive generations would last till 1983 though latterly based in Jerez, under the name Rafael O’Neale.

Patrick Murphy was of farming stock in the Cork area and arrived in 1725 intending to work with timber. Realising wine was more profitable he established a wine business in 1730. He was a bachelor and not particularly healthy so he was helped by his French friend and neighbour Juan Haurie, to whom he left the business on his death in 1762. Haurie became one of the biggest Sherry producers and the business would eventually become Pedro Domecq.

Richard Shiel began as a successful merchant dealing in Sherry in Cadiz, moving to Jerez in 1827. He was the uncle of William Garvey. For a while he was the partner of Nicholas Devereux in the firm Devereux Shiel & Co. He helped Garvey get started with modest employment at the firm and after its dissolution he helped him financially helping fund early purchases of wine, some from the Scots, Gordon & Co. His wife took over the business on his death under the style Viuda de R Shiel, later leaving it to her son Bernardo and his partner Enrique Ostmann who operated as Ostmann & Shiel until Bernardo's retirement in 1841 when  Ignacio de Urrutia became a partner till 1854.

William Garvey was not really a Wild Goose as he was not forced to leave Ireland. Instead the young aristocrat came in search of merino rams to boost his father’s flocks in 1776. After being rescued from the wreck of his ship and marrying his rescuer’s daughter, he was attracted to the wine business. Bodegas Garvey was established in 1780 and became extremely successful. It still exists, though it languished in receivership for some time thanks mainly to its takeover by Nueva Rumasa, however Emperador bought the firm in 2017 and it may well now have a bright future. 

6.9.16 La Pisa de la Uva 2016; Japanese Visitor

The most important and emblematic ceremony of the Fiestas de la Vendimia takes place today at 20.00 on the steps of the Cathedral, the building of which was paid for by a levy on wine. It is the traditional treading of the grapes symbolising the birth of the new wine. The event begins with the arrival of a group of young “harvesters” bearing baskets of grapes which they tip into the lagar. Here men who work for the Consejo Regulador will get to work rhythmically treading the grapes, supported by wooden spades. The juice flows from the spout of the lagar into jarras (jugs) which are duly poured into a couple of butts below. All this takes place to the sound of the municipal band playing the Harvest Hymn and the cathedral bells, while the Bishop of Jerez blesses the new must. It will be hot work; yesterday the temperature reached almost 45ᴼ and today will be about 38ᴼ (the all- time record is 45.1ᴼ from 2003). After fermentation the wine will go to the Consejo bodega San Ginés.

Japanese cocktail bartender, certified venenciador and owner of Cádiz Bar in Tokyo, Masaru Yokota, is visiting Jerez for the Vendimia celebrations in an intense tour organised by Tomoko Kimura, Jerez’ own Japanese Sherry expert. He has been demonstrating his bartending skills with Sherry and Jerez Brandy cocktails, his venencia skills at Lustau, picking grapes and tasting wines at bodegas La Gitana, Gutiérrez Colosía, Faustino González, Caballero, Diez Mérito and at the Consejo. Masaru has done much to promote the products of Jerez in Japan.

Rives Pitman: Gin from Sherry Country

This family owned distillery was established in 1880 by August Haupold, a very active businessman and German consul in Málaga as well as a wine and brandy producer. It is now run by the fourth generation and is based at the El Palmar industrial estate in El Puerto de Santa María. The firm moved here in 1978 after outgrowing the old installations. As time went by more products were produced and the wine and brandy were dropped. They are now producing a range of gins, vodkas (including the famous Caramel vodka VVH Vodk) and alcoholic and non-alcoholic liqueurs and syrups. In total they list 70 different products including Conde de Cuba rum.

The distillery in El Puerto with the column still tower

Equipment-wise they have a 30 metre high column still which produces very pure spirit from a base of locally grown beetroot. The spirit intended for gin passes to a pair of original copper gin stills, brought from the old distillery, with capacities of 5,000 and 8,000 litres.

The gin stills, botanical containers and condensers

Production of gin is currently running at 1.8 million litres annually. It contains 11 botanicals of which one is top secret. Concha de Antonio is responsible for sourcing botanicals and quality control for the gin and only she and the capataz, Francisco Cerecera know the formula. They recently launched a strawberry gin which is selling very well. The bottling line has a capacity of 18,000 per hour. Rives is now the brand leader in Spain, not only for gin where the market is growing at 6% per annum, but also for nearly everything they make. They also have a healthy export trade to 22 countries.

Some of the company's products

Various other companies in the Marco de Jerez offer a gin such as Botanic by Williams & Humbert, The London No 1 Gin by González Byass, but Rives is the only one distilled there.