Jerez Wine

Producer Description 

The Antique release of Fernando de Castilla Fino is heavier than the Classic. Rich and complex with notes of citrus fruit and a classic salty tang.

The company specializes in natural, unblended and unfined products as supreme examples of the ancient winemaking traditions of the Jerez region. The vineyards (farmed without pesticides or herbicides) and winery are all located in Jerez, all sherries are estate bottled. 

Winemaker Description 

A pale and delicate light dry Sherry that is light in color. Commonly served cold as an aperitif, many consider this Spanish wine to be the world's finest Sherry. Finos are excellent when young. A delicate pale cocktail sherry noted for its fine, dry after taste. 

Expert Reviews 

Wine Spectator 91 Points | Takes a flattering approach, featuring a lightly sweet, rounded edge to the date, blood orange, toasted pecan and fruitcake aromas and flavors, with toasted marshmallow and bourbon-glazed peach notes on the finish. Drink now.

Wine Enthusiast 93 Points | Aromas of burnt orange and baking spices are upright and snappy for a Sherry that s fairly creamy. Fine acidity is what keeps this on an even keel and what gives lift to flavors of caramel, brown sugar and candied walnut. This is full and voluminous on the finish. 

Winemaker Description

Villapanes is a rich mahogany color and boasts seductive, toasty aromas of almonds, caramel, fig and a hint of floral perfume. On the palate it is dry, generous and full-bodied, with persistent and lasting flavors.

Pair with roast poultry, red meat or salty, aged cheeses. 

Expert Reviews 

93 Points Wine Spectator | A shade darker than its peers, relying more on black walnut, Brazil nut and singed orange peel notes, while dried persimmon and quince flavors add a succulent side. Light rye and green tea hints echo through the razor-sharp finish, where sweet details peek in.

91 Points Robert Parker | The NV Villapanes Oloroso wears a dark amber-brown robe and has a very intense nose, showing some marmalade, dark tobacco and brandy notes. The palate is textbook Oloroso, round, ample, warm, a little spirity, ending with dry walnut flavors. It manages to balance power and elegance quite well.

91 Points Wine & Spirits | Dominated by notes of salted almonds, this Oloroso has its fair share of sweetness to balance that saline side, making it more readily accessible to a wider range of palates and fitting perfectly with smoked pork.

Winemaker Description 

Contrabandista has a nutty aroma with toffee-caramel tones and a rich finish. Serve slightly chilled as an aperitif or pair with creamy cheeses and pates. 

Winemaker Description 

This extra fine cream sherry comes exclusively from select vineyards in the "Zona de Jerez Superior", the world's finest area for production of sherry. 

It is aged through the time honoured Savory & James solera system which was established in 1780. Finally it reaches full maturity; delicate and at the same time unusually rich and delicious.

Winemaker Description 

Valdespino Moscatel 'Promesa', is a heavy sherry. Light mahogany color with amber tones. A flowery smell with honey and a beetje citrus. The smaak is fris en zacht. It's a perfect balance with a ripple and a fresh fruity surface. 

Producer Description 

El Tresillo was a card game that prior generations of the Hidalgo family used to play in the bodega.  Participants in this leisurely rite would sneak a taste or two from the solera before dealing each round, enough so that the solera eventually adopted the name of the game. Today it is one of Hidalgo’s oldest soleras, and its bottlings are considered a family treasure.

Rich mahogany in color, this sherry shows penetrating aromas of almond, brine, caramel and toasted bread. It is equally sensuous and rich on the palate.

Makes a superb pairing with almonds or preserved fruit, curried lentils and roasted pork or poultry. 

Expert Reviews 

95 Points Wine & Spirits | Inocente is Valdespino’s flagship, a wine from the Macharnudo Alto vineyard, where the soil is pure white albariza. It ferments in 600-liter wooden casks without added yeasts, a practice that has become increasingly rare in Jerez. The intensity of the wine’s salinity is remarkable—iodine and salt—coming together with ripe white fruit, scents of nuts and exotic spices. The structure is dry and austere, like drinking the juice of stones. This will last for a decade in the cellar, but it’s impossible to hold onto a bottle if there’s raw seafood nearby.

94+ Points Robert Parker | As with many other wines from the José Estévez group, there is a special bottling of Valdespino's flagship NV Fino Inocente in magnum, but in this case they have kept the bottles for six months as the wine is from the saca otoño 2016, the autumn bottling from 2016. So the wine is offered with some extra bottle age. It has all that you expect from Inocente, a long aging wine fermented in bota from grapes grown exclusively in the Macharnudo Alto vineyard and bottled with an average age of ten years. All the textbook aromas and flavors are there, coupled with the elegance and mineral intensity the Macharnudo white chalky soils provide. Customers who purchase one of this scarce magnums probably know Inocente already. This will have a longer development in bottle.

Winemaker Description 

This extra fine sherry comes exclusively from select vineyards in the 'Zona de Jerez Superior' the world's finest area for production of sherry. It is medium dry with a delicate color and aroma reminiscent of hazel nuts. It has an especially pleasing taste that pairs beautifully well with hors d'oeuvres, soups, salads and cheese.