Description

Castilla Solera Gran Reserva Brandy is made from the Airen grape. It is Pot Distilled and then aged in barrel for 15 years. The barrels were previously used in the production of Amontillado and Oloroso, so you should get some serious Sherry notes. The aging is also a solera process, like Sherry itself.

Fernando De Castilla Solera Gran Reserva Brandy Importer Notes

“Golden mahogany coloured. Hints of oak. Full bodied, clean and very elegant.”

Bodegas Rey Fernando de Castilla came into being in 1960. It took over an old sherry cellar and some brandy soleras. Owner Fernando Andrada-Vanderwilde could trace his winemaking history back 200 years. His focus was quality brandy, and quality Pedro Ximinez.
1999 saw the company sold and quality went to a new high. Especially after acquiring an almacenista (stockholder of old Sherry). This allows the company to make rare, old Sherry of the very best quality.

Brandy

Brandy is fermented and then distilled grape juicy. The most famous examples of Brandy include Cognac and Armagnac. Brandy when made with care, is every bit as complex as top-quality wine. It differs from Grappa because Brandy uses the juice of the grapes. Grappa uses the skins, seeds and stems (the French call that Marc).

Solera

The Solera system used is Sherry is a way of fractional blending. There are many stages in the solera. Wine is bottled from the oldest barrels (no more than one third is taken each bottling). Then those barrels are topped up with the next oldest barrels. This can go through many levels of age. Therefore some of the oldest barrels have wine that is at least 30 years old but may be much older.

This differs drastically from Champagne or Port blending. In Champagne or Port, they blend separate wines to achieve the desired flavour. In the solera, the fractional blending takes place constantly and the final product is the results of many years.