8/1/26 - 

For all of the diversity found across Spain's wine landscape, no region is quite like the Canary Islands. Volcanic soils, Atlantic winds, and some of the oldest own-rooted vines in Europe combine to produce wines that don't really resemble anything else. To start the month of August off on the right foot, we're featuring a producer that's new to the shop, Bodega Hermanos Mesa, alongside a big discount on a returning favorite of ours, Envinate's La Santa de Ursula Tinto. Scroll to the end to see more about the discount, or keep reading for the introduction of a special project in Tenerife.

The Mesa family's story really begins after the Second World War. José Mesa, grandfather of brothers Fernando, Tomas, and Carmen planted vines of Listán Blanco on the volcanic hillsides of the Güímar Valley in northern Tenerife. Today they work small parcels scattered along the slopes below Mount Teide, Spain's highest peak. Volcanoes are a hard thing to ignore; ancient lava flows, basalt, and volcanic ash are cooled by steady Atlantic breezes, giving the wines a freshness and mineral character that has become something of a trademark for Tenerife. On top of these soils lay the family's old, own-rooted vines that reach elevations of up to 1,300 meters above sea level. The wines of the Canary Islands are known for their unique imprint of a peculiar, intense terroir, and the Hermanos Mesa wines do a great job of capturing the extremes of this terroir.

The family farms everything by hand, accepting tiny yields in exchange for concentration and precision. Only small amounts of sulfur are used in the vineyard as opposed to bogging the vines down with other industrial pesticides and sprays. They work with native varieties like Listán Blanco, Listán Negro, and Marmajuelo, ferment with native yeasts, and keep sulfur additions minimal at bottling. The wines are all fermented or aged in oak and/or stainless steel. The goal is simple: let the vineyards shine.

Each of today's wines offer a serious taste of the island. The Marmajuelo is a chance to taste one of the Canary Islands' most distinctive native grapes, and it doesn't disappoint with its tropical aromatics and hint of grip. The Locartas Blanco is beautifully balanced Listán Blanco with its generous fruit, salinity, and acidity. La Choza is made from a single-vineyard of old vine Listán Blanco at an extreme elevation, and it has both elegance and great depth. Los Brezos, which is the only red wine (with an addition of 15% Listán Blanco) as well as another single-vineyard, has a great harmony between its bursting red fruit and a more herbal, savory quality. The wines are reductive in a way that is very well integrated, and at times, barely apparent; the fruit is never distracted from, and the smokey edge keeps it distinguishable from reduction you may encounter in wines from elsewhere. Hats off to Bodega Hermanos Mesa for making fantastic wines from fantastic work both in the vineyard and in the cellar.

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Alongside these new arrivals, we thought we'd kickstart the month with a big discount on one particularly amazing wine from one of the Canaries' true winemaking gems: Envinate's 2022 La Santa de Úrsula Tinto.

Friends Laura, Jose, Roberto and Alfonso all met years ago at winemaking school in Alicante, and have since then embarked on a remarkable journey, turning out beautiful expressions from historic terroirs across Spain. Particularly intriguing to us have always been their 'Vinos Atlanticos' which have come from old vineyards in different regions with Atlantic influence. La Santa de Úrsula is a red blend from different centenarian parcels, north of Mount Teide, and much closer to the ocean than the Güímar Valley. The wine has really settled into itself over the past year and it is drinking beautifully now. The herbal edge and slightly bitter tannin that often mark it upon release has softened and integrated, while the juicy bramble fruit has gained a lot of lift. Bright acidity keeps everything fresh, and the volcanic soils leave their usual imprint, giving the wine plenty of structure without weighing it down. It's drinking beautifully now, but there's still so much energy that short to mid-term cellaring should be rewarded.

-Nick Douglas

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