2021 Suertes del Marqués Tenerife Valle de la Orotava Vidonia V.P.

Vino de Parcela. Dry white. The wines of Vidonia, as this area was once known, were celebrated across 17th-century Europe. ‘Canary’ was so popular as to make a cameo in Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, where the bard penned: “Farewell, my hearts: I will to my honest knight Falstaff, and drink canary with him.” In recent times, Suertes’ old-vine Listán Blanco cuvées have become some of Spain’s most distinctive white wines. Debuting in 2020, V.P. stands for viñedos propios or ‘estate vineyards’, distinct from the regular Vidonia cuvée primarily because it is crafted from estate-grown fruit, and secondly as it is fermented in new 500L Stockinger barrels, lending the wine a more polished profile. The production—just two barrels—is a fraction of the village wine. It is crafted exclusively from 100-year-old vines in Las Suertes (the same paraje that produces the red called El Ciruelo), on clay and sandy soils. Aged for 11 months in the same barrels, this is Jonatan García’s answer to a top white Burgundy. Seductively aromatic, the V.P. charms with stone fruits, summer florals and a touch of smoky reduction. Rich and deep citrus flavours and fresh, saline undertones are aligned to tight acidity, pitch-perfect grip and powerful, lengthy drive. A detailed and finely crafted release.