Each year González Byass invites a renowned international wine trade professional to join Master Blender Antonio Flores, IWC Fortified Winemaker of the Year 2016, to help select the new edition of the Fino Palmas Collection.
This year top sommelier and wine personality Gérard Basset was in Jerez to taste through over 100 wines and choose the very best for the 2016 Fino Palmas Collection.
Previous influencers have included Jancis Robinson MW, Sarah Jane Evans MW, Anthony Rose and Jamie Goode from the UK and Michael Schachner, Spanish wine editor Wine Enthusiast, from the USA.
Commenting on the tasting Basset said, “"It seems easy to select barrels but when confronted with so many that taste so superbly, and with such different characteristics it is not so obvious. At the end you have to follow your gut feeling." He continued, “It was a very humbling experience to select alongside the Master Antonio Flores. It was difficult but very exciting, Antonio and Pedro Rebuelta made it easy and fun for me. I really enjoyed the experience and I cherish the opportunity they gave me."
With regard to the wines selected Flores explained, “Year after year selecting the Fino Palmas is a quite emotional and surprising experience. Having the help of the inimitable Gérard Basset brought together the three most important virtues when it comes to tasting wine; prestige, experience and sensitivity.” He continues, “Gérard was fascinated with our work in the winery, where we spent the day tasting and selecting the best “botas” from our amontillado fino solera.”
Speaking about the Fino Palmas Collection Flores explains, “This solera is where our veil of yeast, the flor, lives out its splendid life in our Uno and Dos Palmas, and where it then experiences its end, in the Tres and Cuatro Palmas. The weather conditions throughout the summer are fundamental to the delicate balance of the yeast, which survives in an environment where the nutrients become gradually less, and the levels of alcohol slowly and relentlessly pushes that yeast to the very limits of survival. The result, this year, is unbeatable; a selection of Fino Palmas delicate, elegant, complex and transcendent, reflecting the circle of life of the wine that is Tío Pepe.”
