2021 La Bardona Tinto - Pablo Matallana/Taro Vinicola (750ml)

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From importer website: “This wine is 99% Listán Negro, with a tiny amount of Listán Blanco, which comes from three parcels of organically farmed, own-rooted centenarian vines on volcanic clay soils. These three areas represent the main terruños of Tenerife’s northern coast. From west to east: 43% from La Orotave at 350m, 39% from La Victoria at 680m, and 18% from La Matanza at 650m. Pablo Matallana is a young, forward-thinking winemaker based on the Canary island of Tenerife. Through organic viticulture and thoughtful winemaking, Pablo seeks to showcase different grape varieties and the unique terroir of the Canaries. Pablo studied enology at the highly respected Polytechnic University of Valencia, and after graduation he worked in both Chile and Priorat before returning to Tenerife to pursue his own project. Lanzarote has a markedly different landscape than Tenerife, since it is the closest to Africa of the seven-island chain, and dramatically more arid. The majority of vineyards Pablo is working with are in the central part of Lanzarote, near Timanfaya National Park. The island sees only 18 days of rain per year on average, with a total of about 6 inches, making grape cultivation very difficult. Coupled with the intensely hot and dry trade winds known as the Calimas, vines are typically planted in hoyos (walled holes) or zanjas (trenches) dug in the ground for protection. Due to a period of major volcanic activity in the 1700s, vines must grow through one meter of volcanic ash (locally known as picón) to reach water in the underlying clay.”