When a top sommelier returns from Tenerife raving about a small grower, naturally we were curious. They are also highly reviewed in Tim Atkin’s latest report on the Canary Islands.
Borja Pérez farms a wonderful range of volcanic, own rooted vineyards from unique Canarian varieties. The whites are savoury, mineral driven, and a hint of that struck match aroma one can enjoy in top Burgundy. The reds, wild thyme, meaty. The volcanic energy is at the heart of these incredible range of wines.
Borja is the fourth generation of his family to make wine. His family began working in the wine world in 1927. Born in 1985, Borja has memories of the winery dating back to 1992–93, marked by events that made a lasting impression, and of 1994, when the Ycoden-Daute-Isora denomination of origin was established. He has always been closely connected to the winery. In 2007, he began producing and selling his family’s wines (a project he continued until 2013), and in 2011, he launched Ignios Orígenes, a range of single-varietal indigenous to Tenerife, single-parcel wines only farmed by Borja.
Borja acquired the family business at the end of 2013, and by 2014, he had stopped making the original family wines. That year marked the beginning of Artífice (Spanish for “creator” or “artisan”), a project inspired by the structure of Burgundy, with three tiers: “villages” wines, “lieu-dit” (site-specific) wines, and single-parcel wines.
His winemaking philosophy is to bottle wines that transport the drinker to Tenerife, to its volcanic soils and native grape varieties, without chemical additives or corrections. He uses only a small amount of sulphur at bottling and avoids industrial yeasts, enzymes, and other additives. He works with high-quality, used barrels in large formats to ensure the oak never overpowers the wine.
The winemaking process is generally very similar across the board with the focus is on good-quality grapes and delicate work in the winery, using used French oak barrels and large volumes. More details here.
