El Esquilón 2019

The single-vineyard 2019 El Esquilón comes from a silty plot at 450 to 550 meters in altitude planted with old Listán Negro vines pruned in the braided cordón trenzado system traditional in la Orotava. It fermented with full clusters in concrete vats with indigenous yeasts and had a maceration of 23 days. It matured in used 500-liter oak barrels for 14 months. It's 12.6% alcohol. This is from a higher altitude with sandier soils and has more complexity and depth, more nuance and elegance. It has something Nebbiolo-like that I loved. A volcanic Nebbiolo, that is! This could be the hidden gem of the winery, often overlooked because of the pricing. 4,100 bottles were produced. It was bottled in December 2020.