In Jerez de la Frontera, where the Andalusian sun beats down on whitewashed bodega walls, the Domecq family has aged brandy by the same principle for close to three centuries. Fundador Old Version carries that legacy forward, cask by cask, vintage by vintage.
Expert's Description
Fundador Old Version Pedro Domecq is a Spanish Brandy matured through the solera method in ex-sherry casks of American oak, bottled at 38.5%.
The house of Pedro Domecq traces its roots back to 1730, when the Irish merchant Patrick Murphy founded a bodega in Jerez de la Frontera. Roughly a century later, the French wine trader Pedro Domecq Lembeye took over the business and gave it his name, and in 1874 the house created Fundador, the first Spanish brandy ever marketed under the name Brandy de Jerez.
The brandy matures in the same bodegas that hold Jerez's famous sherry, moving through a solera system of stacked casks where young brandy gradually absorbs character from older vintages before it is finally drawn from the bottom row. It is a slow process that gives Fundador Old Version its rounded, dark character.
The Old Version bottling is a nod to the house's classic style, the way it tasted long before Fundador conquered the international market. It shows the brandy without ornament, just craft, time and the damp bodega walls that mark the wood, year after year.
Tasting Notes
Nose
Dried figs and walnut meet a sherry sweetness from the casks, backed by caramel and a faint oxidative, nutty edge.
Palate
A wave of raisin and caramelised sugar, with a touch of dark chocolate, spiced oak and orange peel.
Finish
Long and warm, with notes of dried fruit before a last trace of sherry oak slowly fades.
Specifications
Name: Fundador Old Version Pedro Domecq
Producer: Fundador, Pedro Domecq
Country: Spain
Type: Spanish Brandy
ABV: 38.5%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Solera-aged in ex-sherry casks of American oak
Serving suggestion: Best enjoyed at room temperature in a cognac glass, ideally as a digestif after dinner
Flavour Profile
Sherry Cask · Caramel · Dried Fruit · Spiced Oak
Did You Know?
Did you know that Fundador was the very first brandy ever marketed under the name Brandy de Jerez, back in 1874, a name that has since become a protected designation of origin reserved for brandy matured in this corner of Andalusia.