Trenzado, Suertes del Marques 2024

Full bottle 1,289 g. Ungrafted Listán Blanco vines, mostly bought-in fruit. Fermented in foudres (2,000–4,500 litres) and some 500-litre casks. Spontaneous fermentation, 10–11 months on lees. Lees are not stirred unless the ferment stops. Partial malo. No heatwaves in 2024 so there was less stress on the vines. TA 6.67 g/l, pH 3.1.Smells volcanic-smoky and refreshingly and attractively sour-fruited rather than sweet-fruited. The smoky notes of reduction, an indirect effect of the volcanic soils, which stress the vines, are less marked in this vintage, explained Jonatan Garcia Lima, because there were no heatwaves. No struck-match here. In the mouth this is captivating. As well as the smoky impression there’s an intensity of green fruits and grapefruit. Dry and lightly chalky. Super crisp and yet gently rounded on the finish. Tight but not lean, smoky but not so much as to obscure the lovely pithy fruit. Distinctive and distinguished. It may well age longer than this but I haven’t tasted examples with a lot of bottle age – and why wait when it’s delicious now. (JH)