Dolores Cabrera "La Araucaria" Rosado, Canary Islands, Spain 2023

FROM JOSÉ PASTOR:

THE WINE: 100% Listan Negro vines from two vineyards, Montijo and Hacienda Perdida. Both vineyards are in the Valle de La Orotava and are in the unique cordón trenzado (“braided cord”) style. The grapes are skin macerated for 12 hours, and the wine is aged in stainless steel tanks. The wine is bottled with light fining and filtration, and a minimal amount of SO2.

THE PRODUCER: The illustrious Greek author Homer describes a place in his epic poem “The Odyssey” called Elysium. It is “where the sea gives fresh life” and where notable men go to rest in the afterlife. He goes further to call Elysium “a place where men live a sweet and peaceful life, without snow, harsh winters, or rain, but a perennial cool air, born of the breath of the zephyrs that the ocean exhales in a musical breath.” It has been said by many that the inspiration for this mythical paradise was taken from a visit to the Canary Islands, the home of Dolores Cabrera Fernández - a woman making wines so truly distinctive that we can imagine the mythical gods resting in their afterlife, sipping on Listán Negro and gazing out over the vast sea with the imposing Pico de Teide in the background. Her passion and soul rests in her centenarian vineyards, vines with such noble beauty that it is easy to envision Dolores in her own paradise, where the vegetables abound, fresh goat cheese is always at the ready, and a stirring and profound glass of Listán Negro awaits.