About this WINE
Gonzalez Byass
Gonzales-Byass was established in Jerez in 1835 by a young entrepreneur Manuel Maria Gonzalez, who exported the first cask of Tio Pepe to London in 1844. Gonzalez was advised by an uncle of his, a man called Jose Angel de la Pena. Uncle Jose had a small bodega with his own solera of Fino, which had direct access to the street as he liked to come and go as he fancied. People called Jose are often nicknamed Pepe in Spain, so the solera of uncle Jose (tio means uncle), or uncle Pepe gave name to the famous Tio Pepe brand.
The original bodega del Tio Pepe still exists, is in use today, and in fact holds some of the best botas of Tio Pepe Fino. Gonzalez took different partners, and the company changed names a number of times, like Manuel Maria Gonzalez & Cia or Gonzalez & Dubosc. In 1855, the year the people of Bordeaux were really busy making the classification of their chateaux, Gonzalez sold some company shares to his importers and distributors in the UK, Robert Blake Byass. The name of the company was definitely set to Gonzalez Byass & Co., which has been kept till the present day. Today the fifth generation of the Gonzalez family still own and manage the company.
The company has grown its holdings significantly over the years, and the winery's 37 hectares span across a number of small streets in Jerez that connected the different bodegas, La Constancia, La Concha (a unique round bodega attributed to Gustav Eiffel), Los Apostoles, La Cuadrada, and the more recent Gran Bodega Tio Pepe, Las Copas or Marques de Bonanza.
Palomino Fino
Palomino, named after Fernan Yanez Palomonio, one of King Alfonso X`s knights, is the primary grape variety for Sherry styles (Fino, Manzanilla, Amontillado, Oloroso, Palo Cortado) production.
It is a high yielding variety that is widely planted in Spain producing mostly insipid thin, dull wines lacking in fruit and acidity. However it thrives on the predominantly chalk based soils of Cadiz where it produces large bunches of golden yellow grapes, which ripen in early September. The resulting must is transparent in colour and somewhat neutral in flavour, but the subsequent wine can develop a coating of flor before maturing in the solera system and produce a whole range of intense and aromatic sherries.
It is also grown in South Africa, California, and Australia where it is fortified to make sherry-style wines.
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Description
Fino at its freshest and least adulterated yet drawn, paradoxically, from the bodega’s two oldest soleras. En Rama is as much a testament to the ingenuity of the solera system as it is an expression of the unique characteristics of the current year – notably the condition of the flor.
A damp but mild January in Jerez was followed by a long stretch of clement weather which ensured an exceptionally thick, healthy layer of flor come April when this was bottled. Bottling takes place without fining or filtration in order to capture (literally) those wonderful aromas of almonds and yeast and deliver them at their most pronounced to the drinker.
On the palate, En Rama is complex but immensely drinkable, with a long saline and citrus finish. Drink this within the next few months to appreciate the full force of its personality.
Will Heslop - Buying Team
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