SuertesdelMarquésValledelaOrotava‘Trenzado’2024

<p>Suertes del Marqués has been leading Tenerife’s vinous renaissance for the past two decades.</p><p>Francisco García Lima had been growing and selling most of his crop to local domaines since 1986 before he started producing wine commercially himself in 2006. He introduced organic, low-interventionist philosophies and his son Jonatan took over the estate in 2016. Suertes del Marqués has now become ground zero for a new wave of Tenerife fine wine; indeed, theirs is some of the most thrilling wine made in Spain today.</p><p>Jonatan farms 9ha of indigenous old-vine varieties – some more than 200 years old – on volcanic clay and sand soils in the steep Orotova Valley, an appellation where cloud cover moderates temperatures by some 10°C compared to the rest of the island. Trained with a rare technique called cordón trenzado, the long vine canes are painstakingly tied back to their sinewy roots after pruning, then propped off the floor with poles.</p><p>Production is split between 25% white wine made from Listán Blanco (Palomino) – which, unlike that grown in Sherry country, here marries vibrant citrus fruit with mouth-watering acidity and a signature smokiness – and 75% red wine made from Listán Negro and Tintilla (Garnacha). Fresh and peppery with round, supple tannins, they resonate with a volcanic mineral backbone.</p>