Baboso Negro, Ignios Origenes, 2018

The red 2018 Ignios Origenes Baboso Negro was produced with the grape known as Alfrocheiro Preto in Portugal, the reason why Perez started this project. There's not much more than 10 hectares of this grape planted in the Canary Islands. This comes from a plot that was planted in 1997 and which delivered very low yields in 2018. That might be the reason why this has a surprising 14% alcohol for a cool year but high acidity and, thus, comes through as powerful but fresh. The destemmed grapes fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts, and the wine matured in 600-liter oak barrels for 14 months. It has a note of beeswax and honeycomb, raspberry leaf and dry rose petals with subdued minerality that, with time in the glass, turns into a very acute note of black tea, a little smoky. It's quite original and characterful, with pungent flavors, some dusty tannins and unexpected fresh flavors like blood orange. The plate is a little rustic, but it should evolve nicely in bottle. Only 720 bottles and 24 magnums were filled in February 2020.

DRINKING WINDOW 2020 - 2026

date of review 08/2020