Great news that GB has decided to print bottling dates on all Tio Pepe labels. Let's hope other bodegas follow suit.
It is impossible for the consumer to know how long a non vintage wine has been lying around, or indeed how well it has been stored. By its very nature, Sherry is very rarely a vintage wine, and the Finos in particular can go stale or spoil if sitting around on shop shelves or on bar gantries for too long.
Despite most Finos having the words "Serve chilled" printed on labels, most bars in my experience have their Tio Pepe - for it usually is Tio Pepe - exposed to light and un-chilled sitting on the gantry slowly oxidising away. This is obviously bad for the consumer, the bodega and Sherry in general. Perhaps a concentrated campaign by the bodegas, aimed at bars in particular, to point out shelf life and serving issues might help, and I strongly recommend it.
Many houses in the Champagne trade are now printing disgorgement dates on labels rather than bottling dates, but it is not far from the same thing, as effectively once the wine is separated from the yeast it will begin to age more rapidly.
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