Tierra Fundida - Cercado del Pino Blanco Tenerife 2022 750ml (13% abv)
WINE CLUB SELECTION - STEALS - OCT 2024
Loreto Pancorbo & Gabriel Morales are Tierra Fundida (Molten Earth) Living and making wine out of their house-turned-winery deep into the country in Tenerife, they started their label in 2017, after years of working in more conventional wineries. The motivation to start their own label and build their own winery came naturally. The family (they have three young children) tries to be self-sufficient, living as sustainably as possible, taking advantage of their large vegetable garden and the animals they raise, striving for independence. It is this same spirit that they bring to their work at Tierra Fundida.
Their wines come from six different vineyards spread around 7 hectares in the zones of Tacoronte, and Los Realejos (in the Orotava Valley). The 5 hectares in Tacoronte (where the majority of their red varieties come from) have historically been farmed organically but they are quickly introducing biodynamic practices, treating the soils not only with the 500 preparation, but using Maria Thun’s preparation, trying different tea infusions, and plants to enrich the land.
The whites come from two vineyards in Orotava, where temperatures are typically lower during the maturation period. There they are experimenting with different cover crops, feeling the difference between what they planted versus the spontaneous cover crops.
Their tiny production of 10,000 bottles is handled artisanally. There is no machinery in the winery, the racking is done by gravity, and the wines are made from whole clusters, except for one white that is de-stemmed manually.
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A blend of Listan Blanco, Albillo Criollo, and Verdello (the Portuguese varietal found in Madeira, not to be confused with Verdejo from continental Spain) from Cercado del Pino, a 1.5 hectare vineyard in Orotova.
Complex, textural, savory, saline, crunchy yellow orchard apples, lemongrass, the noticeable flinty minerality will appeal to Chablis fans, subtle citrus fruit, herbs, hints of petrol for the dry Riesling geeks, with bright acid and a long dry finish. 2.800 bottles produced. (233 cases)
region: Canary Island, Spain
varietal: mostly Listan Blanco with some Albillo and Verdello
style: complex white
farming/cellar: organic, The Listan Blanco is pressed directly, full clusters, and fermented in concrete. The Albillo Criollo is destemmed manually, and foot stomped. It ferments with the skins in clay amphorae. The Verdello also gets to be destemmed manually, and ferments in open top wood vats. The wines are then blended and rest in concrete, amphorae and used oak for 6 months.
pairing: linguini & clams, Vietnamese lemongrass chicken, pan seared scallops