MICHAEL CANDELARIO
La Palma
Canary Islands
Michael Candelario is one of the most exciting new names in winemaking, and at just 25, there is a long career ahead of him. Based on the island of La Palma, on the Northwest tip of the Canary Islands, he farms own rooted vines at incredible altitudes, and with a range of ages, going back over 100 years.
Michael comes from a family of grape growers, the 4th generation, but is the first to make the leap and take the next step, making the wine. He is fortunate in this venture, to be mentored by none other than Iñaki Garrido.
To say these wines come from a remote place would be to understate things, some of his vines sit at 1400m, which places them above the cloud line. The vines sit on steep terraced slopes. Puntagorda is on the north west of La Palma, meaning the vines here are even more exposed to the brutal winds, and indeed sunshine, that the Canarian archipelago is known for.
Some of the vines he tends have been planted by his great grandfather, and are now joined by vines planted himself. Thanks to Phylloxera never reaching these lands, the wines are all own-rooted. He currently farms 3 hectares, though is working to restore more old vineyards to production.
Northern La Palma is characterised by the giant Caldera de Taburiente - a large, eroded shield volcano, and the persistent Atlantic influenced Ylisios winds that bring moisture and freshness from the north. The vineyards cling to the Caldera’s steep, verdant slopes, receiving a direct line to the energy of the island.
We offer his second ever vintage, 2024. Already these wines have built a reputation for themselves. Initially, he is producing a red and a white whilst he learns about the different vines and plots. These wines already have an imprint of a very exciting new voice in wine for the Canary Islands, and speak profoundly of the islands.
Blanco
Vintage 2024
Style White
Region Puntagorda, La Palma
Varieties Listan Blanco, Albillo Criollo, Vijariego Blanco
ABV 13.5%
Soils Volcanic Basalt Clay, Red Stones
Farming Organic
Winemaking The grapes come from several parcels ranging from as young as 6 years old to 100 and even 200 year old vines. All are planted on steep terraced slopes with northeastern exposure between 800 and 1450m above sea level.
Grapes are hand harvested, before the whole clusters are gently pressed into a stainless steel tank for a 24 hour period of settling. This is then racked into old French oak barrels where it completes primary and malolactic fermentation, and ages on fine lees for 9 months. The wine is bottled unfined, unfiltered and with only a small amount of SO2.
Tasting Note
Tinto
Vintage 2024
Style Red
Region Puntagorda, La Palma
Varieties Negramoll, Listan Negro, Listan Prieto
ABV 13.5%
Soils Volcanic Basalt
Farming Organic
Winemaking
Grapes come from a variety of vines, both young and very old (over 100 years), planted on steep terraced slopes with northeastern exposure between 1200 and 1400m above sea level.
The grapes are harvested by hand then foot trodden whole cluster with a short maceration, before being pressed to a stainless steel tank to complete primary fermentation. The wine is then racked into old French oak barrels to complete malolactic fermentation and ages on fine lees for 7 to 8 months. Bottled unfined, unfiltered and with only a small addition of SO2.
Tasting Note