Founded in 1835 González Byass, renowned Sherry producer, has built an exquisite collection of casks and rare bottles of fine aged Sherries. Mauricio González Gordon’s, chairman and fifth-generation family member, family has a long tradition of releasing and laying down special wines and experimental vintages which were dedicated to the coronations of kings and queens and the election of new popes.
Among this treasure trove, Antonio Flores, multi-award winning master blender at the company, has discovered León XIII a very old wine which was selected by the González Byass founder’s son, Pedro Nolasco González de Soto, and dedicated to the new Pope Leon XIII in 1878; just as his father had done on the occasion of the election of previous Pope Pio IX (1846-1878) and was later carried out with the election of Pio X (1903-1914).
Commenting on the wine Mauricio González Gordon said, “This wine was created in the mid-19th century: a Pedro Ximénez, made before phylloxera arrived in Jerez. We are delighted to
be able to release this jewel of a wine but there will on be 78 bottles for sale – the remaining 20 will be stored in the González family’s bottle archive, El Aljibe.”
He continued, “Leon XIII is not only special because it was so old but also because has not been fortified and its natural alcohol level is 9º AB. This means that technically it cannot be considered to be a Sherry. It comes from a single butt containing 80 litres.”
The Finite Wines Collection is a range of aged Sherries that are extremely rare – so much so that once they have been bottled the production of these irreplaceable Sherries will be finished.
Antonio Flores, award winning master distiller at González Byass, has once again scoured his cellars to seek out the very best and extremely rare Sherries. Often hidden away, languishing in the corner of an old cellar, suspended in time, left to age and mature in the stillness and warmth of Jerez’s most famous cathedral-like cellars. The Finite Wine collection will reveal the delights of what beautifully aged, extremely limited production Sherry has to offer.
