2019 Benje Blanco

The white 2019 Benje Blanco comes from different old vineyards there planted with Listán Blanco, the local strain of Palomino on sandy volcanic soils. The vines are at high altitude, 900 to 1,100 meters above sea level. Each plot fermented separately in concrete with indigenous yeasts and without going through malolactic. Seventy percent of the volume matured in concrete tanks under a veil of flor yeasts, and the rest aged in a 2,500-liter oval oak foudre with fine lees for nine months. 2019 was an extremely dry year in the south of Tenerife, and they had to remove bunches from the vines that were getting blocked with no water and days of up to 38 degrees Celsius in August, so yields were 50% of a normal year there. The wine is 12% alcohol and has a low pH of 3.09 with notable acidity for the variety. They compared 2019 with 2017. They still vinified this at lower temperature, and that makes the wine more fruit driven. It's balsamic and pungent, spicy and with a balanced palate. 10,000 bottles and 50 magnums were produced. It was bottled in June 2020.