Ignios Origenes: Extraordinary Volcanic Wines from Tenerife
8/5/17 -
I vividly recall my first taste of Ignios Orígenes. It was after a tasting at the importer's office, when a trio of unlabeled black bottles appeared, distinguished only by inscrutable cursive markings.
First to be poured: the Baboso. "What is Baboso?" I asked. In response, a gleaming splash of magenta filled my glass, a multi-sensory onslaught of technicolor fruits, perfumed florals, volcanic grit, and an electrifying charge that transcended the wine's impressive acidity.
Ignios Listán Negro was equally awakening. The charming local workhorse grape of the Canary Islands, Listán Negro makes fresh, peppery reds and fun rosés that I found easy-drinking and distinctive, if not terrifically complex. This wine, by contrast, was smoldering and exotic, with broad, supple layers of sweet smoke, briny umami, botanicals, and chewy, musky fruits. Years later, the audacity and sophistication of these wines continue to inspire, and they have gained a devoted clientele here at Chambers Street.
Borja Pérez González is the talented vigneron behind Ignios, a proud native of La Guancha in northwestern Tenerife, part of DO Ycoden-Daute-Isora. He runs his small but ambitious operation from the family winery where, as a young agronomy student, he got his start as a winemaker, and which he subsequently purchased from his father and uncle in order to launch Ignios Orígenes in 2011.
Ignios is dedicated to showcasing single vineyards of four of Tenerife's intriguing local grape varieties: Listán Negro, Baboso Negro, Vijariego Negro, and the rare white Marmajuelo. When talking about Canary Island wines, it is easy to focus on the obscurity of the local varieties, the own-rooted vineyards, and their dramatic volcanic terroirs. But in the case of Ignios, the wines themselves are equally interesting and beautiful. It is Borja's rigorous farming (100% organic as of 2017, after years of painstaking improvements in his Baboso and Marmajuelo vineyards) and natural but meticulous winemaking that enable soaring expressions of these grapes and their origins.
The wines are simultaneously focused and wild, challenging and pleasurable, with the elusive quality of making foods consumed next to them taste more delicious. Entering the dog days of summer, we welcome the arrival of this unique array of wines, which never fail to to enliven our palates and provoke our imaginations. We encourage you to pair them with exotic flavors and everything from the grill.
Today we are pleased to offer the newly-released 2015s from Ignios: Marmajuelo, Listán Negro, Baboso Negro, and Vijariego Negro. And since we weren't quite ready to say goodbye to the sensational 2014 vintage, Borja kindly agreed to send us a few magnums of each wine from his personal stash.
On a recent trip to Tenerife, in conversation about Ignios, a neighboring winemaker remarked that Borja's wines were immediately recognizable in a lineup, for their effusive aromas and distinctive energy. This is true. At the same time, they express vintage variation in interesting ways, which makes this opportunity to enjoy two different vintages very exciting. Cheers!
- Ariana Rolich
