Description
Please Note: This report is also part of The Spanish Subscription, a new bundle which includes all the new Spanish reports plus the back catalogue of all Spanish reports from 2024.
The Canary Islands produce some of Europe’s most exciting – and least known – wines. Their area under vine is comparatively small at just 3,371 hectares, but the diversity they produce is unique. Tasting wines here is like stepping back in time in a sense, yet also excitingly current. Wines from the archipelago were famous in Shakespeare’s time, but the modern wine scene began as recently as the early 1990s.
In a world where there is way too much Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, it’s a pleasure to taste new things – not just varieties that you can find elsewhere in Spain and Portugal, like Listán Blanco, Baboso Negro and Negramoll, but those that are unique to one or more of the islands. Stand up Albillo Criollo, Diego, Forastera Blanca, Listán Negro, Marmajuelo, MalvasĂa Aromática and Verijadiego.
Today there is renewed interest in the wines of the Canary Islands. Mass tourism has helped, but so has the emergence of a new generation of very talented winemakers, many of whom feature in this report. The range of soil types, altitudes, aspects and cultivation methods rewards study. And the best wines – red, white, sweet and rosé – have a deserved reputation for excellence, ranked alongside the best wines of the “peninsula”, as Spain is known locally.
This Top 100 reviews 531 brands from 117 producers, covering all seven wine-producing islands and the majority of the leading bodegas. All my Top 100 scored at least 94 points, while 39 wines scored 95 points or more. One received 100 points, one 98 points and four 97 points. Exciting times!
