those are some old barrels!
We love a good family story and we love it even more when it involves traditional method sherries steeped in history. Bodegas Faustino González is a family business dedicated to the artisanal production of Marco de Jerez Wines. Founded in 1972 by D. Faustino González Aparicio, when he acquired the soleras from 1789 from the Alcázar de Jerez, and moved them to the cellar house of his wife, Doña Carmen García-Mier, in Cruz Vieja. They age there today after more than 250 years since its inception, one of the most traditional and ancestral relics of Jerez. This small and beautiful family winery is located in the heart of Jerez.
jerez superior
The El Carmen de Montealegre Vineyard where they grow Palomino Fino and Pedro Ximenez varieties, is only seven hectares long and is located in the old Pago de Montealegre, belonging to the wine-growing region of Jerez, classified as JEREZ SUPERIOR, currently the only vineyard in this estate that produces its own sherries.
The family range of Cruz Vieja sherry is created by hand. The musts ferment naturally in American oak barrels and the sherry is bottled without filtering, preserving all the aroma, flavour and colour typical of aging under flor. All the work in their El Carmen de Montealegre vineyard and in the winery is carried out by hand, and the soleras are cared for with the love they deserve in a region that is recognized as one of the best places to produce sherry.
Bodegas Faustino González’s Cruz Vieja Fino En Rama is crafted from the highest-quality Palomino grapes grown in the historic Pago de Montealegre vineyard, located within the prestigious Jerez Superior sub-zone. En Rama refers to a style of Sherry that is bottled with minimal clarification or filtration, preserving the wine's purity and allowing it to express the authentic character of Jerez in its most natural form.
The wine displays a warm golden hue with amber highlights. The nose is intensely expressive, offering distinctive aromas of toasted almonds, fresh bread dough, chamomile, sea spray, and chalky minerality, with subtle notes of yeast and flor. Bone dry and beautifully textured on the palate, it delivers remarkable precision and a savoury, saline character. The finish is exceptionally long and persistent, leaving lingering notes of almond, brioche, and a signature maritime freshness.
Bottle volume: 750ml
Vinification: Fermentation takes place in traditional American oak casks at a controlled temperature of 22–24°C over a period of no more than ten days.
Maturation: The wine is aged biologically beneath a protective layer of flor yeast in American oak casks at the winery's historic cellars in Jerez de la Frontera. It matures for 5–7 years using the traditional criaderas y solera system, the hallmark aging method of Sherry production, which imparts the wine's distinctive freshness, complexity, and unmistakable Fino character.