Suertes Del Marques Trenzado 2018, D.O. Valle De La Orotave, Spain

The Trenzado bottling hails from a number of old vine parcels in the cooler Valle de la Orotava, with most vines over one hundred years of age. Jonatan Garcia Lima is the proprietor here and farms all of his old, braided vines organically and meticulously by hand. The vines are ninety-five percent Listán Blanco and five percent unknown, co-planted varieties. The wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts in concrete tanks and aged nine months in older, five hundred liter French barrels prior to bottling. The 2018 Trenzado is a bit tight when first opened, but with coaxing, eventually offers up scents of lemon, salty minerality, dried flowers, citrus peel and a touch of green olive in the upper register. On the palate the wine is bright, focused, full-bodied and nicely tensile on the backend, with a fine core, excellent backend mineral drive and a long, complex and vibrant finish. The grapes come from many different plots of very old vines – many ungrafted and over 100 years old. The vines are cordon trenzado or braided – this is a traditional method of viticulture on Tenerife. Orientation: 250-800 meters above sea level. Soil: Volcanic. Viticulture: All work is done by hand. The vines are trained in the traditional trenzado method where the arms are braided. The estate is practicing organic. Vinification: Wild yeast fermentation in concrete tanks. Aging: The wine ages for 9 months in 500 liter used French oak foudres.