Alejandro Fernández, one of Spain's most important wine personalities, has died at the age of 88 in Santander, northern Spain. His death leaves "a gap that is difficult to fill" in the Castilian wine scene, his company Familia Fernández Rivera says.
Together with his wife Esperanza, Fernández was the driving force behind the now world-famous wine "Tinto Pesquera" from Pesquera del Duero, whose first vintage was harvested in 1975.
Esperanza was involved in the founding, and subsequent success, of the well-known D.O. Ribera del Duero in 1982 for which he received a Golden Medal of Merit from the former Spanish King Juan Carlos I in 2014.
In 1985, he and his wines achieved world fame when Robert Parker "ranked them among the best wines in the world and called him the Peter of Spain".
Over the years, the Condado de Haza (Ribera del Duero), Dehesa de la Granja (V.d.l.T. Castilla y León) and El Vínculo (La Mancha) wineries were added to the family heritage. The group is now active in over 70 countries. sw
