To mark the 10th Anniversary of the rare and fine Tio Pepe Palmas Collection, González Byass brought together the ten international wine critics who had helped to the select the annual “saca” of these award winning Sherries.
A stellar line up of Masters of Wine and international wine press and critics joined Pedro Rebuelta, vice chair and 5th generation family member, and award winning master blender Antonio Flores to mark this auspicious 10th anniversary.
The Las Palmas Selectors had received a selection of Una, Dos, Tres and Cuarto Palmas wines to taste from the past decade. They then met virtually to comment on the wines whilst they tasted along together. The tasters and the vintages they selected were:
- 2011 Jancis Robinson MW
- 2012 Anthony Rose
- 2013 Sarah Jane Evans MW
- 2014 Dr Jamie Goode
- 2015 Michael Schachner
- 2016 Gerard Basset MW
- 2017 Pedro Ballesteros MW
- 2018 Natasha Hughes MW
- 2019 Peter Liem
- 2020 Ferran Centelles
Commenting on the tasting Pedro Rebuelta said, “The Tio Pepe Palmas Collection is defined by two important factors: quality and the selection. The quality is the work of our master blender but the selection is down to the expertise and high standards that the wonderful wine professionals and connoisseurs have used each year in their selection.” He continued, “We will be eternally grateful and honoured that such well-respected and renowned wine authorities have given their time and know-how to the selection of these very special wines.”
Master blender, Antonio Flores, started his virtual presentation of the wines with a toast to the late, great Gerard Basset MW MS who was the only taster not present, and said, “This is an emotional moment for me. It is so very special to see you all here again and that we have been able to come together, as a group, to taste through a decade’s worth of exceptional wines.”
“The Las Palmas Collection is the essence of Tio Pepe and demonstration of how excellent fino evolves. The solera system allows us to see, via the Tio Pepe Palmas wines, the small variations accumulate in the wines, and nuanced differences in the Una Palma evolve to become unique personalities by the time the wines reach the Tres and Cuatro Palmas stages.“
The renowned, expert tasters who connected from the US, the UK, Spain and France shared their memories about the year they made their selection and tasted:
- Fino Una Palma: 2019 & 2013
- Fino Dos Palmas: 2017, 2014 & 2011
- Fino Tres Palmas: 2020, 2018 & 2016
- Amontillado Cuatro Palmas: 2015 & 2012
To watch an edited version of the tasting click here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ir5ux67imjolxyz/10aniversariopalmas.mov?dl=0
The 2020 edition of the Las Palmas Collection, selected by Ferrán Centelles, leading Spanish sommelier, author and journalist will be launched at the beginning of December 2020.
