Decanter World Wine Awards 2009 Silver Medal
Sommelier Wine Awards 2009 Gold List
Aromas of coffee, liquorice, sweet tobacco, prunes, figs, raisins, tea and a dozen other fleeting scents with a surprising lightness and delicacy. An incredible, seductive, luscious and wonderful to drink sherry.
Ideal with chocolates and chocolate based desserts, ice creams and pastries as well as certain cheeses. Best served at 10-12 degrees C.
Pedro Ximenez is the name of the grape variety used. The grapes are dried in the sun and then pressed. The wine is unbelievably sweet and after having spent nearly three decades in sherry casks, it has developed aromas and flavours that are truly unique.
One of the most exceptional of the small, independent sherry houses, Fernando de Castilla was revitalised in 1999 by Jan Pettersen, a Norwegian gone native with a passion for top quality sherry with 15 years experience at Osborne.
After taking over the cellars of the Sherry shipper Jose Bustamante, located next door to the main facilities of Fernando de Castilla, Jan quickly established Fernando de Castilla as masters of the production and ageing of fine, unblended, untreated Sherries.
Matthew Jukes, The Wine List: "If Lustau PX is for setting the scene, Fernando de Castilla Pedro Ximenez is the unforgettable finale. This weird, dark, mysterious, mahogany-hued wine is hypnotic, ever-so-slightly-hallucinatory and unbelievably intoxicating. Happy, smiley and dare I say it, giggly, this is a dreamy, smooth, coffee, raisin, walnut and Christmas spice wine. Many Pedro Ximenez wines do this trick on the tongue, but Fernando de Castilla’s version does it to every molecule in your body. This is like liquid Connolly leather, only more amazing on the nose and more luxurious to the touch. One sip and you are in its power – you have been warned.' Matthew Jukes, The Wine List 2005.
Sarah Jane Evans MW, Decanter, Dec 2010: “The Antique wines are a well-chosen selection. The PX has all the typical unctuous viscosity of the style, bright with fruitcake and cold tea flavours. At 20 years of age, it appears refreshingly well-balanced."
