Viñatigo “Listàn Negro”
Canary Islands, Spain | 2021
When thinking of the Canary Islands archipelago, not many would immediately conjure up wine in their minds, but this island is quickly becoming a hot topic in the wine community for their indigenous varietals grown in ancient volcanic soils. Though this is also officially a Spanish territory, it actually rests closer to Africa than to Spain which make this a truly unique appellation to the rest of mainland Spain which was just recently given DOP status is 2012. Don’t let that fool you though—wine has been made on these islands at least since the 15th century, so it’s hardly an emerging region.
Tenerife where Viñatigo is located is considered one of the best appellations for grape production a few reasons: the vineyards sit at the highest altitude of any mountain appellation in Spain as well as having these intense winds off of the Atlantic known as the alisios that bring moisture to this arid part of the island. These winds allow the grapes to retain acidity despite the very long warm and sunny days that dominate the island. Some of the vines themselves can also date back 200 years as this island never had to endure the plight of phylloxera like the rest of the world, so they didn’t need to be regrafted which allows the complexity to soar in these wines.
Listàn Negro is one of the most recognized red varietals from the Canary Islands and is one of my absolute favorites. I am one who always sings the praises of volcanic soil wines as they always seem to impart a specific minerality that stands out from the rest, and the finish on the wines take that mineral component to a magnificent place. Juan Jesús Méndez Siverio is a 4th generation winemaker who focuses solely on indigenous varietals and has revived a few that were thought to be extinct. His light touch on his wines allow the soils and vines to speak for themselves and this Listàn Negro is delicious with ripe strawberry and cherry on the nose opening up to a mineral rich palate that has elements of smoke on the finish. This is a fantastic BBQ or charcuterie wine and is best served a bit chilled.