A few months ago, I wrote about the jewels of Gonzalez-Byass Tio Pepe brand. You can read a pretty good explanation of what these are, if I do say so myself, here. That post provides tasting notes for the sherries bottled in 2019 and 2020. The wines are now available in Israel in small quantities. The current bottling is 2021. The book on Finos says to drink them when they're at their freshest, so I was looking forward to drinking the youngsters.
The Dos Palmas is much richer than the 2019 version. The effect of the flor is much in evidence, but so is a nutty, honeyed, almost meady nose and texture that carries on to the finish, reminding me of sweet/salty roasted cashews. Blind, I would have guessed this was the Tres Palmas, so delightful were the intensity and richness .
The Tres Palmas has magnificent presence. You can smell it a yard away. Despite that, initially it doesn’t feel more powerful than the Dos, rather more elegant, even reserved. It’s as though the higher quality of Flor gave it finesse, rather than outright intensity. I would guess it’s not technically drier than the Dos, but it feels less honeyed on the nose; there are cashews here as well, and on palate as well, but they’re lightly roasted and salted, with the light natural sweetness you’d expect from the nut. The finish is salty and briny, tempered by a hint of sweetness. It's really in a sweet spot, balancing pungency and finesse. How does it compare to the Tres Palmas 2020? It doesn't feel much fresher. Both feel as though they were just poured from the cask. The recent bottle feels less focused. I'll try it again in winter. If I can keep away. Maybe the Tres Palmas should read: give it a year.
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