2016 Taganan Blanco

A few weeks after my visit to the Canary Islands, I was able taste the just-bottled 2016s, including the 2016 Táganan Blanco. This is their village white, and it is produced with grapes (mostly Listán Blanco) from different vineyards ranging from 75 to 400 meters altitude and 50 to 150 years of age! 2016 saw a mild summer, which resulted in wines with less alcohol and very good acidity. This matured for eight months in barriques with lees and without racking or added sulfur. They now have whites from three different zones within the island of Tenerife, and this is by far the most austere, mineral, closed and saline. It feels very young and ungiving in the nose, and you have to guide yourself by the palate, where the wine is deep, powerful, mineral and pungent. This vintage aged entirely in oak, whereas in the past, part of the wine was kept in stainless steel. Now that they have better conditions within their own winery, I guess the wines are going to go from strength to strength. 6,000 bottles were filled in June 2017.