2016 Palo Blanco Orotava

Their first white from the Valle de la Orotava is the 2016 Palo Blanco. It is from the village of Los Realejos that somehow specializes in Listán Blanco grapes, especially in the Palo Blanco quarter that names the wine, as it is a place that produces characterful Listán Blanco wines. The 1.5 hectares of centenary vines are trained in the unusual "cordón trenzado" method of La Orotava and located at 600 meters altitude on black sand and basalt soils. The full clusters were pressed and the juice let to settle overnight to be fermented in raw 6,300-liter concrete tanks with indigenous yeasts and without temperature control. It didn't go through malolactic fermentation but matured in two 2,500-liter oval oak foudres for ten months. This has a superb mineral palate, with pungent, saline flavors; it's sharp as a knife, with depth and a salty aftertaste. The nose is a little reticent, perhaps because it was bottled a couple of weeks before I tasted it, and the nose is going to change. 6,600 bottles were filled in October 2017. As with the wines from Taganana, this is sold without appellation of origin.