New Tio Pepe En Rama most “intense” yet

Tio Pepe Fino En Rama is to return for a third year, and is set to be the most intense bottling yet, having been made from the best barrel from González Byass’ four ancient Tio Pepe soleras. As reported on thedrinksbusiness.com, production will be up slightly on last year’s 300 cases and will include a number of half bottles designed exclusively for the on-trade. The company decided to make the wine from its best four Tio Pepe barrels in homage to the 200th anniversary of founder Manuel María Gonzalez on 26 May.

The intensity of flavour is a result of a mild winter in Jerez, which has lead to the development of an extra thick protective veil of flor in the casks. “We’ll have an especially intense En Rama this year due to the mild winter and warm spring temperatures, and the special cask selection,” said winemaker Antonio Flores. “Despite racking off the wine a couple of weeks prior to bottling, the wine may have a stronger “haze” than the last edition,” he added.  

Described as “turbo-charged Tio Pepe” by González Byass’ marketing manager Jeremy Rockett, En Rama, loosely meaning “in its unrefined state”, is made from unfiltered Tio Pepe taken from the cask in spring when the flor is at its thickest. Without stabilisation, En Rama has a lifespan of just three months, and a mere three days after opening.

This year’s hand-drawn label, taken from the González Byass archives, is an old Sherry label from 1857 featuring a stylised grapevine surrounded by a red ribbon. Rockett believes the vintage labels have been a big contributing factor to the wine’s success: “The labels have almost become the message of the wine. “Our customers eagerly await the next release to see what we’ve dug up from the archive. Changing the label each year is part of its charm,” he said.

“At the niche end of the market you can get away with being less traditional and have some fun with your label designs, because consumers are buying on name,” he added. Tio Pepe En Rama will be available to taste at the London International Wine Fair at 11am on 22 May. UK deliveries will start on the same day. The wine is set to be bottled next week and will be priced at £13.99 a bottle.

Legeron: RAW vs Real wine fair rivalry blown out of proportion

Isabelle Legeron MW, organiser of London’s forthcoming RAW wine fair, has spoken out about rumours of rivalry between her and Real Wine Fair organiser Doug Wregg of Les Caves de Pyrène, saying: “Our split wasn’t acrimonious – everything has been blown out of proportion.” As reported on the drinks business, having both helped start up The Natural Wine Fair in London Bridge last year, both Legeron and Wregg are hosting their own natural wine fairs this year, at the same time.

Legeron’s RAW is being held at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane on May 20-21, while Wregg’s Real Wine Fair takes place at Victoria House in Holborn on May 20-22. “We decided the best way to move forward was to call it quits and organise two separate events. It’s a shame they’re both at the same time, hopefully that won’t happen next year,” Legeron said.

“It’s not an ideal situation, it would have been great to do a second Natural Wine Fair like last year. The fact that there are two fairs has got people talking and generated a lot of interest in both, but the rivalry has been exaggerated. I’m looking forward to the speculation on blogs and Twitter calming down so we can both get on with our jobs of organising our respective fairs,” she added.

Wregg agrees that the reaction to the news on blogs and Twitter has been counterproductive: “There has been some nasty blogging going on, trying to drive a wedge into something that should be really positive. Growers are confused by who is issuing the propaganda,” he said, adding, “I’m desperate that both events are successful because it will show there’s great traction with natural wines.”

Both agree that there is space for two natural wine fairs in London: “A natural split has occurred, with Les Caves de Pyrène growers going with the Real Wine Fair. A few producers want to be at both, but it has mainly been an easy decision where to go.

“300 producers would have been too many for one show anyway,” said Legeron, who admitted that she doesn’t know when an official definition for natural wine will be decided, despite it being desperately needed. Progress will be made this year but there won’t be a concrete definition for a while, if ever,” she said.

As to whether she and Wregg will ever join forces again, Legeron is unsure: “Let’s get this first fair out of the way and then we’ll have to see. There will probably be two fairs again next year, just hopefully not at the same time.” Both events, planned to coincide with the London Interntional Wine Fair on 22-24 May, will feature around 150 growers, with each devoting a day to consumers.

Chester Osborn, d'Arenberg

Wine and the City chats to Chester Osborn, the flamboyant chief winemaker of d'Arenberg in McLaren Vale at the London International Wine Fair about his involvement with Australia's First Families of Wine, his controversially titled new sweet wine: Botryotinia Fuckeliana, and the launch of his new sparkling wine, 'Dadd'.