2022 Carmelo Pena Santana, Bien de Altura, Tidao, Gran Canaria

Carmelo, a Gran Canaria native, was fortunate to gain access to several single vineyards planted to own-rooted vines. After spending time working with Dirk Niepoort, he returned home to craft wines that speak to the distinctive character of Gran Canaria, one of the lesser-known islands in the Canary archipelago. Three of his single-site bottlings—Tidao, Agan, and Sansofi—undergo a five-week, whole-bunch fermentation and maceration in open-top 500L French oak barrels, followed by one year of aging in seasoned 225–500L French oak. The wines are neither fined nor filtered.

Often the most tantalizing and expressive wine in the range, Tidao shows a vivid, red-fruited charm reminiscent of sour red candy and red flowers. It comes from a 120-year-old, own-rooted parcel on the northeast side of Gran Canaria, planted to 70% Listán Negro and 30% a mix of Tintilla, Listán Prieto (País), Vijariego, and the whites Listán Blanco and Malvasia. The vineyard sits on a moderately steep, undulating slope at 1050–1070 meters, facing southeast, with volcanic scree (breccia) bedrock topped by clay and silt.