González Byass launches ‘wild’ Tio Pepe En Rama

Tio Pepe has released the eighth edition of its en rama expression, described, by González Byass master blender Antonio Flores as “wild and alive”.

Antonio Flores with Tio Pepe’s 2017 en rama release

First released in 2009, the 2017 limited edition fino Sherry, like previous en rama releases, is bottled without normal wine clarification and stabilisation processes such as fining or filtration. Instead, en rama Sherries are taken ‘raw’, straight from the middle of the cask during spring when the ‘flor’ yeast is at its thickest.

Flores described his most recent release as “elegant and aromatic on the nose with the characteristic intense yeasty aroma of the “flor”, intermingled with the distinctive almond notes typical of Palomino Fino: “fresh, complex and intense, salty and expressive, but most of all alive and wild.”

The 2017 Tio Pepe en Rama has been made from a selection of 60 botas, housed in González Byass centuries-old cellar La Constancia, in the heart of Jerez, Spain.

“The barrels were specially chosen to represent the unique moment in the bodega when the venecia breaks the “flor” to open up the yeasty veil which covers this golden liquid and Tio Pepe en Rama emerges: raw and blooming with life.” explained Flores.

“Protected from the intense Levante winds of the long-forgotten summer and enabled the blanket of the the flor to protect the wine and reveal, at the beginning of spring, a version of Tío Pepe that is fragrant, intense, brilliant, salty and immaculate.”

Each year a different label is chosen based on original art work sourced from Tio Pepe’s historical archives, dating back to the late 1800’s.

This year’s en rama release will be available from May in the UK.