Fondillón

Fondillón is a premium fortified-style wine of extraordinary character, made solely from Monastrell left to overripen on the vine until it partially raisins. That concentration of sugar in the grape means that, once fermented, the wine reaches a high strength, around 16 degrees, using only the alcohol it generates naturally, with nothing added. This is what sets it apart from wines such as Sherry or Port, which are fortified with wine spirit.

After fermentation comes its most singular trait: a long oxidative ageing of at least ten years, almost always in the traditional criaderas y soleras system. The result is a deep, amber wine, dry or slightly sweet, of astonishing aromatic complexity and an almost limitless keeping potential: some fondillones rest in barrel for decades.

Its name seems to come from the bottom of the barrel, the fondellol, often the famous Monóvar barrel, in the town at the historic heart of its production in the Vinalopó valley.

Fondillón's fame goes back more than five hundred years. As early as the 16th and 17th centuries, the Monastrell wines of Alicante sailed from the city's port across Europe and became favourites of courts and monarchies. The dry climate, the long summers and a unique grape made these wines a coveted luxury in London, Paris and the northern capitals.

For generations, the Alicante wine trade shaped the prosperity of whole inland districts. Fondillón was the noblest of all: the wine kept for great occasions, given to kings, and left to age in family cellars awaiting its moment.

Phylloxera, wars and the changing tastes of the 20th century nearly wiped it off the map. It was reduced to a handful of wineries that, almost out of devotion, kept their century-old soleras alive. Thanks to them Fondillón survived, and today it is enjoying a revival that restores it to its rightful place in the history of wine.