Good Pair Days - Suertes del Marques 'La Solana' Listan Negro 2017

The Canary Islands are Spanish, but sit off the coast of Morocco. Tenerife, the main island of the bunch, has a long and fascinating wine history, as well as a wealth of indigenous grape varieties you've probably never heard of, such as Listán Negro, Tintilla and Baboso Negro, many of them grown on 100 year-old vineyards!

Suertes del Marques is widely acknowledged as Tenerife’s best producer. Owner Jonatan Garcia Lima is part of the growing breed of intensely passionate young Spanish producers capitalising on the heritage vines and allowing the volcanic soils to speak through his eloquent, mineral driven wines. He has recently begun working with the talented young winemaker Luis Seabra.

They source their grapes from the Orotova Valley, on the far cooler north side of the island, which features volcanic clay soils and the steep slopes of the Pico del Teide volcano. The estate has some incredibly old, low-yielding vines and produce wines that have freshness, balance, purity of fruit, minerality and an authentic terroir character. To us these are truly special wines, and they leave a lasting impression on everyone who tries them.

Made from a single vineyard of old-vine, high altitude native grape variety Listán Negro, this is an enigmatic wine, wild and floral, juicy and taut. The aromatics are so complete, with notes of blackberry, coal, spices and violet. It reminds us of French Syrah, or perhaps Italian Barbera. It's such a complex thing, it starts rich and finishes fresh. It's juicy and smoky. Intriguing and ever-changing, it’s the kind of wine that makes you smell it twice.

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