Fernando de Castilla : Antique Fino

Characteristics and tasting tips for the Antique Fino by Fernando de Castilla

Tasting

Appearance
This Sherry displays a straw-yellow hue of notable intensity, enhanced by golden highlights that reflect its eight to nine years of ageing under a veil of flor. It comes in a fully transparent glass bottle, the signature format of the Antique range, which shows off its perfect clarity and distinctive colour, deeper than that of a young Fino.

Nose
The bouquet is saline and highly complex, blending notes of hay and garrigue with hints of almonds and peanuts, slightly bruised apple, orange zest, polished wood and a touch of iodine. This fine, fresh palette also evokes hazelnut, oak and olive, the hallmark of a Fino aged under flor for longer than average.

Palate
The attack is broad and full, carried by notes of cidery and baked apples, an almost creamy texture and an impressive salinity reminiscent of salted almonds and peanuts. The wine is at once incisive, intense and delicate, supported by lively acidity and an alcohol content of 17% achieved through double fortification, which prolongs the warmth on the palate. The long, complex finish combines citrus, nuts and yeasty notes over a persistent saline backdrop.

Food pairings and tasting occasions

Antique Fino is a delightful match for seafood, Iberian ham and cheeses, in the tradition of the great Finos of the Marco de Jerez. It should be enjoyed chilled, between 8 and 10°C, ideally served in small measures in a catavinos-style tasting glass, with the bottle kept in an ice bucket to preserve its freshness throughout service.

Mixology

Given its rarity and great aromatic complexity, Antique Fino is above all intended for attentive tasting. We recommend savouring it neat, on its own, to fully appreciate its richness and personality.

Antique Fino, an exceptional Spanish Sherry by Fernando de Castilla

The estate

Founded in 1837 by the Andrada-Vanderwilde family, the House of Fernando de Castilla belongs to the long winemaking tradition of the Marco de Jerez. Based in the historic Santiago district of Jerez de la Frontera, it is now run by Jan Pettersen, a Norwegian owner who acquired and revitalised the bodega in 1999, giving it an international dimension. True to an artisanal approach, this Spanish estate crafts its Sherries from grapes grown in the Balbaino pago, on chalky albariza soils, following the ancestral methods of winemaking under a veil of flor and the traditional solera system. This philosophy, centred on authenticity and purity, has made Fernando de Castilla a benchmark among the boutique bodegas of Jerez.

The wine

Antique Fino is made from 100% Palomino Fino from old vines in the Balbaino pago, grown without pesticides or herbicides on highly chalky albariza soils. This Andalusian Fino is aged in a solera of four criaderas comprising around thirty casks. It is the only solera Jan Pettersen has created since taking the helm of the bodega, and it was built from a selection of casks drawn from the Classic Fino. Its average age reaches eight to nine years, considerably older than most Finos on the market. It also undergoes double fortification, bringing its alcohol content to 17% at bottling, an age-old practice that has become rare in the Marco de Jerez. Only very lightly filtered, it is stabilised solely by the natural cold of winter, which is when it is bottled once a year.

Presented in fully transparent glass designed to reveal its colour, Antique Fino embodies the limited-edition approach of the Antique range. It also plays an essential technical role by feeding the third criadera of the Antique Amontillado. This places it at the crossroads between the traditional Fino style and the world of Amontillados.

Grape variety
100% Palomino Fino.