Wines

Atlante’s white wine comes from a parcel called Los Topes in the western part of the Valle de la Orotava at 600 meters altitude. Here, Listán Blanco and Albillo Criollo are planted in roughly equal proportions in soils of volcanic sand mixed with small amounts of clay and basalt. The vineyard’s relatively cool and cloudy microclimate results in a long vegetative cycle, with harvest taking place typically in mid-October, and wines from this plot subsequently show phenomenal acidity and drive. The two varieties are co-fermented without added yeasts and without temperature control, and the wine spends 12 months on its fine lees in used 600-liter French-oak barrels before bottling. Offering a tension-packed combination of salty acidity and citrus-tinged viscosity, this exuberant wine gives fennel, quince, and fresh mountain herbs, with a long and tunneling finish which promises some years of positive evolution.

Atlante’s pure Listán Negro bottling comes from a vineyard known as La Quinta, situated at 400 meters altitude in the Valle de la Orotava; this is the family’s longest-held parcel, and the winery sits right in the middle of it. Jesús’ vines here are over 150 years old—ungrafted, of course, and trained in the traditional braid-like Cordon Trenzado method. At harvest, bunches are brought promptly into the lagar (around which the vines are planted), where a portion are left whole-cluster and trod by foot in traditional horizontally oriented shallow cement vessels. Fermentation proceeds spontaneously, lasting for eight to ten days—a relatively quick fermentation facilitated by the large surface area of the horizontal vats—and after being pressed in a small vertical wooden basket press, the wine ages 12 months in used 600-liter French-oak barrels. Atlante’s Listán Negro showcases its relatively cool microclimate of origin, with a fresh, lifted palate saturated with red fruits, cracked black pepper, and a cupboard’s worth of spices. There is a density of material and a juiciness here which speak to the Canaries’ plenitude of warmth, but the wine remains unabashedly brisk and scintillating.

Atlante’s “Vidueño” is Jesús’ tribute to the Tenerife wines of the 18th century—an era in which field blends ruled the day. Comprising plantings in the La Quinta vineyard of Listán Negro, Vijariego, Castellana, Negramoll, Listán Blanco, and Albillo Criollo—red and white varieties alike—Vidueño is co-fermented with no added yeasts and without de-stemming in the horizontally oriented cement vessels typical of the zone. Fermentation lasts just three or four days, after which the wine is transferred to used French-oak barrels of 600- and 225-liter capacity for one year and bottled without fining or filtration. Light but tenacious, fresh but with depth, Vidueño offers a compelling and wide-ranging fruit profile which underlines its multicolored source materials.