PALMAS – Sherries – old releases
It was a day of highs and lows for the stock control team yesterday as we discovered an interesting batch of stock that had slipped off the radar. This is most unusual and a rare treat for us all. Now, finding wine is always a good thing – wine tends to improve with a bit of ageing and so generally no harm is done by a short rest in our warehouse which has perfect conditions for long term wine storage.
So the disappointment of the inventory control failure was tempered by the delight of finding more stock! The wine itself is a selection of the wonderful Palmas Range of Fino sherries released by Gonzalez-Byass on an annual basis for the last three years. Now there is a potential problem – every single bottle of these rare old Finos is stamped with its’ bottling date – and a sentence advising drinking up within 6 months…
So we did what we do best – we opened some of them up to see how they were. Quite simply – we were very pleased! This is fascinating stuff. Still perky and bright, clearly this is aged Fino, there are wonderfully evolved notes and complex layers of nuttiness and yeast, a bright tangy edge and the long elegance of an older Fino – there is clear evolution – but they are holding up very well.
There is a gentle sediment in the bottom of the bottles which is simply down to the fact that they extract these sherries from the barrels in the bodega without filtering at all – and so after about 6 months some of the more weighty bits and bobs in the wine begin to drop to the bottom of the bottle – this is mostly tartrate crystals that have formed and are tasteless and harmless, but can easily be avoided with gentle pouring.
We have the following wines available now – at these brilliantly low prices, simply so we can share these tasty gems and make way for the 2013 releases – all in half-litre bottles:
- FINO Una Palma Gonzalez Byass 2011 release – £8.50
- FINO Una Palma Gonzalez Byass 2012 release – £8.75
- FINO Dos Palmas Gonzalez Byass 2012 release – £11.75
- FINO Tres Palmas Gonzalez Byass 2012 release – £25.00
- FINO Cuatro Palmas Gonzalez Byass 2012 release – £36.50
You can browse all the sherries here or below.
Best wishes,
The Lea and Sandeman Fine Wine Team