“La Choza del Cabrero” Valle de Güímar Blanco

This stunning wine (whose name translates to “the goatherd’s hut”) comes from a 0.6-hectare plot of 60-to-70-year-old Listán Blanco planted at 1300 meters altitude in a clearing in the natural preserve La Corona Forestal—a glen on Mount Teide densely thicketed with pine trees. A slightly higher proportion of clay in the soil here lends the wine more richness, but it displays a similarly visceral grip of salinity to the “Los Pelados” with an even greater sense of concentration. This spends nine months in a combination of three-quarters 500-liter French oak and one-quarter stainless steel, and is bottled without clarification or filtration. Furthermore, the steel-vinified portion undergoes maceration on its stems and skins—a tactic which enhances the wine’s texture and structure.