the 10th anniversary tasting of Las Palmas

On your marks: Una, Dos, Tres, Cuatro – the 10th anniversary tasting of Las Palmas

In 2011, González Byass invited Jancis Robinson to cut the tape as it were on a new range of fino sherries they were launching by joining their winemaker Antonio Flores Pedregosa to help in the blending of the four Las Palmas. A limited edition drawn from the best of their 21,750 Tio Pepe casks, Uno, Dos, Tres and Cuatro are four fino sherries of different ages ranging from youngest to oldest. When I was invited the following year, I somehow found space in my diary for what turned out to be an unforgettable experience. 10 years and 10 eager participants later, we few, we happy few, were invited to see how our chosen bottles had aged by tasting one bottle from each of the last 10 years with Antonio and vice chairman Pedro Rebuelta González.

The launch had been part of the innovative movement among sherry producers to create new premium sherries against the backdrop of a long decline in sales. After Lustau created its range of specially selected almacenista sherries, another new concept doing the rounds at the time was that of ‘en rama’, a raw, unfiltered dry manzanilla or fino sherry. González Byass had already launched a successful en rama to coincide with the family company’s 175th anniversary. Bottled after being drawn straight from the cask without filtration, en rama has more impact than your common, bland commercial sherry and has proved especially popular in tapas bars. González Byass’ Las Palmas range was in the mould of this new search for flavour and relevance, a wine of character to lay the ghost of negative associations of poor quality and old-fashioned styles.

As Antonio made clear in his introduction to this Zoom tasting, the Tio Pepe dry fino idea had originated way back in the 19th century when González Byass only produced sweet sherries for the UK market. In 1844 they sent their first fino sherry to the UK and to commemorate the 150th anniversary, they launched the Añada Collection. As he pointed out, en rama is just part of the process, but it has to be supported by many other factors, notably managing the Palomino grape in the vineyard, selecting the best wines, seasoning the American oak casks and making the most of the eco-system of the cellar itself. Great wine, as we know, is born in the vineyard - but though Las Palmas is indeed born in the vineyard, it’s taken to a whole new level in the cellar.

Las Palmas gets its name from the slightly curved mark chalked by hand onto a barrel in which film of the flor yeast on the surface of the sherry keeps going longer than usual. Additional marks showing longer ageing create the shape of a palm leaf, hence the name La Palmas. When I joined Antonio for the selection in 2012, we wandered through the quiet, cathedral-like bodega with its balsamic and sourdough-like smells, pulling out samples to taste from 60 pre-selected casks, aged six years (Una), eight years (Dos) and 10 years (Tres). The Cuatro, being considerably older, and, effectively an amontillado, came from a special Museo Solera of just six casks. Our job was to whittle these 66 samples to just four, one for each category.

Washing down the Palmas at Bar Arturo in Jerez.

I like to think that if it hadn’t been for Covid 19, the chosen few might all have assembled back in González Byass’ cellars for the 10th anniversary reunion tasting. As it was, we contented ourselves with finding out how one bottle from each of the 10 years had aged. Antonio had done the pre-selection, choosing two Una Palmas ( 2019 and 2013), three Dos (2017, 2014 and 2011), three Tres (2020, 2018 and 2016) and finally, two of the older Cuatros (2015 and 2012). Going from younger to older (the wines, that is, not the participants), we were each invited to give our thoughts on ‘our’ wine and how it had aged.

The Wines

Una Palma

2019. (Peter Liem)

Pale gold, fresh, briney aromas, a sweet and spicy hint of autumnal bonfire smoke, lovely fresh briney, sea-salty flavours, soft -textured richness, good depth, bone dry finish, classic fino. 93/100

2013. (Sarah Jane Evans)

Mid-gold, amber, mature, a mature hint of sweet marmaladey oxidative sherry-whiff aromas with some underlying burnt caramel and nuttiness, nicely soft-textured palate, still good, nutty, bone dry finish. 90/100

Dos Palmas

2017. (Pedro Ballesteros)

Mid-gold to amber a tad subdued, potent sherryish whiff, rather good underlying briney and nutty notes, fine fruit quality, still fresh, dried apricot richness balanced by a nuttiness and an appetising bone-dry finish. 92/100

2014. (Jamie Goode)

Mid amber, clear, more mature, umami hint of Marmite, developed, briney and slightly nutty at the same time, a hint of something antiseptic, hospital ward, peat, nice sweetly ripe, textured fruit middle, still fresh, light nuttiness with distinctly salty bone-dry finish. 92/100

2011. (Jancis Robinson)

Mid-gold, showing a cloudy deposit hint, developed aromas with a coffee and toffee-like nutty hint of oxidation, even a spicy note of juniper, yet good intense briney, sea-salty whiff, with almondy note of evolution, dried fruit on the mid-palate, complex bone-dry finish. 91/100

Tres Palmas

2020. (Ferran Centelles)

Pale gold, strong sherry whiff, savoury smoky and nutty bouquet, briney on the palate with great richness and intensity and a streak of sweet dried fruit with fresh acidity for a saline, bone dry finish that also has some grip to it. 93/100

2018. Tres Palmas (Natasha Hughes)

Light gold, a tad subdued but subtle aroma, half way to amontillado, both sweetly ripe and savoury mid-palate, richly concentrated with a fine toffee apple-like richness, texture softening and elegantly nutty, bone dry finish. 94/100

2016. (Gerard Basset)

Mid gold-amber, almost clear, intensely woodsmoky and butterscotchy in aroma, beginning to smell amontillado-like, with a lovely silky-textured richness of dried fruits immediately underpinned by a salty fresh, bone dry acidity. 95/100

Amontillado Cuatro Palmas

2015. (Michael Schachner)

Developed mahogany in colour, a shade cloudy, mature smoky coffee and caramel notes, almost Madeira-like, intense and austere, dried fruit richness instantly underlined by a streak of intense acidity that bites back with the 21.5% alcohol for an austere, bone dry finish. 91/100

2012. (Anthony Rose)

Clear coppery bronze hue, alluring combination of sweet smokiness with caramel and amontillado-like nuttiness, real purity of fruit and textural finesse with intense flavours of dried fruit underpinned by a mouthwatering nuttiness and remarkably fresh, bone dry finish on a seemingly indestructible wine. 95/100

Note: This week, from 2nd to 8th November is International Sherry Week. For details of events, check out: https://www.sherry.wine/news/worlds-biggest-sherry-party-your-home-2-8-november-2020

— posted by Anthony Rose