Wine & Spirits - October 2019 - 71

FOCUS:
CANARY ISLANDS
Our blind panels tasted 26 new-release wines from the Canary Islands for this issue. Our
critic for Spain, Joshua Greene, rated 11 as exceptional (90+) and 5 as Best Buys. Find a
complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com.

W HI T E
272837

93 | Los Bermejos

$24

2018 Lanzarote Malvasía Volcánica Seco
(Best Buy) ^ If you love mineral white wine,
few places offer more starkly volcanic terroir than Lanzarote, where the vines grow in
ditches cut through the surface lava, not only
to protect them from the winds, but to access
the topsoil buried beneath it. If not, you
might find this simple and one-dimensional,
as one of our tasters did. Several of us, however, found it irresistible, as plump and juicy
as a summer peach and completely refreshing. Ignacio Valdera makes this wine without
any oak, using a local variety thought to be a
cross between malvasía di Lipari and marmajuelo. § David Bowler Wine, NY
272938

93 | Suertes del Marqués

$44

2017 Tenerife Valle de la Orotava Vidonia
Listán Blanco ^ Jonatan García Lima works
with ungrafted vines planted more than a
century ago and trained in the local cordón
trenzado, a thick braid of canes that grows
horizontally, following the contour of the
hills for as much as 30 feet. His 2017 Vidonia takes listán blanco to new heights, with
an effortless feel to its fresh pear flavors, both
concentrated and fragrant. He achieves that
by organically farming his volcanic soils,
shepherding the fruit through a spontaneous
fermentation in neutral oak casks, then aging
it in those 500-liter casks for ten months. It's
a savory white with deep flavor and refreshing minerality. § Polaner Selections, Mount
Kisco, NY
272839

92 | Tajinaste

$35

2017 Tenerife Paisaje de las Islas Malvasía Aromatica y Marmajuelo ^ Agustín García Farrais is the third generation to run this
family estate. He trained in Bordeaux and
tends his own 7.5 acres of vines, and farms
others on long-term contract. This is his
top white, a 50-50 blend of malvasía aromatica fermented and aged in stainless steel
and marmajuelo that rested five months in
French oak. It's a bold, voluptuous white
with scents of Cara Cara oranges and salted
lime that feel like they are exploding with

volcanic tension. For roast suckling pig, on a
summer picnic. § David Bowler Wine, NY
272834

89 | Viñátigo

$21

2018 Tenerife Listán Blanco (Best Buy) ^
There's a brisk, flinty reduction to this wine,
what one taster described as "licking volcanic rock." That structure keeps in check the
exotic fleshiness, smoky and juicy, with a flavor that falls somewhere between avocado
and peach. Give it a year in the cellar. § David
Bowler Wine, NY

R OSÉ
272835

92 | Los Bermejos

$24

2018 Lanzarote Listán Negro Rosado ^ This
rosé tastes directly of the volcanic soil, that
minerality overlain with clean peach and
spicy pink grapefruit to soften and sweeten
its briskness. A cool herbal note of thyme
adds to the wine's zesty feel. An oceanic rosé
for grilled fish. § David Bowler Wine, NY

RE D

272941

95 | Suertes del Marqués

$45

2017 Tenerife Valle de la Orotava Viñas
Viejas El Chibirique Listán Negro ^ Allow
yourself to be seduced by the raw minerality of this wine's scent and it will deliver facets of richness for hours. Its fragrant flavors
of black cherry and plum skin grow out of
a small amphitheater facing east, where the
vines are between 60 and 80 years old, their
canes braided in the long, horizontal serpentine twists of the local tradition, called cordón
trenzado. Those vines ripen the grape stems
in close enough alignment to the fruit so
that García Lima can make this entirely with
whole clusters. He ferments it with ambient
yeasts in concrete vats and ages it in large
neutral French oak barrels. This offers a pure
and compelling taste of a beautiful place. §
Polaner Selections, Mount Kisco, NY
272945

93 | Suertes del Marqués

$22

2017 Tenerife Valle de la Orotava 7 Fuentes (Best Buy) ^ This is a blend of listán negro,
with about 10 percent tintilla, including fruit
from 35 parcels ranging in age from 10 to

180 years old. The concentration of the oldvine fruit and the chunkiness of the younger
makes it complicated-a powerful wine
that looks more to the African desert than
to the Spanish coast. As it integrates with
air, the bright fruit comes out in scents of
plums and strawberries, the tannins take on
a black-satin quality and the coastal freshness makes it refreshing. Decant a bottle for
a trip to Tenerife. § Polaner Selections, Mount
Kisco, NY
272940

93 | Suertes del Marqués

$50

92 | Suertes del Marqués

$18

92 | Bodega Tajinaste

$19

2017 Tenerife Valle de la Orotava Viñas
Viejas El Ciruelo Listán Negro ^ This is from
a north-facing estate parcel of 80-year-old
vines, including three percent listán blanco,
where the cordóns trenzados follow the hillside as it climbs from 1,575 to 1,700 feet in
altitude. That cool exposure, facing into the
trade winds, creates a svelte red, closed off
behind crunchy cranberry-skin tannins and
cracked-peppercorn spice. It's a tough young
wine, beginning to yield its richness after
days of air, hinting at violets and raspberries,
requiring bottle age to fully reveal its complexities. § Polaner Selections, Mount Kisco, NY
272942
2017 Tenerife Valle de la Orotava Viñas
Viejas La Solana Listán Negro (Best Buy) ^
La Solana is a 3.75-acre parcel of clay over volcanic rock where the ungrafted vines range
from 80 to 150 years old, trained as cordón
trenzado. Jonatan García Lima ferments this
with ambient yeasts in concrete tanks, leaving half of the fruit as whole bunches. It's
concentrated, black and closed off, needing
several days after the bottle is first opened to
show itself more completely. Then it reveals
an old-vine intensity of sour black-cherry
and black-currant flavors, bright, gripping
and wild. § Polaner Selections, Mount Kisco, NY
272843
2017 Tenerife Valle de la Orotava Tradicional (Best Buy) ^ A blend of fruit from close to
1,950 feet in elevation and richer fruit grown
closer to the sea, at 600 feet, this is a powerful, sanguine red with unrelenting tannic
grip. Leave it aside in a decanter and floral
notes emerge, hinting at lavender, with flavors that range from tomato-skin spice to tart
pink grapefruit and deeper tones of black
cherries. One taster described it as "friendly,
without sacrificing typicity...not a touristy
wine." It should only grow more friendly with
a few years in bottle. § David Bowler Wine, NY
272944

WINE & SPIRITS

OCTOBER 2019

71
http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com
Wine & Spirits - October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2019
