2020 Bimbache Tinto

Bimbache is the name of the former inhabitants of the small island of El Hierro, the westernmost and smallest island of the Canary Islands. After the conquest by the Spaniards in 1405, the local inhabitants or Bimbaches were sold into slavery a few years later. However, it is also and above all the name of one of the most imaginative wine projects in Spain in recent years. Rayco Fernández (we also know him from the "Puro Rofe" project in Lanzarote), is a local wine distributor in Gran Canaria with an immeasurable knowledge of the potential and future of the islands' vineyards. In El Hierro not very many hectares of vineyards remained. Certainly along the steep north side of the island there are still few winegrowers who take their chance. The returns are often too small to legitimize the investment. Rayco took his chance and the wines are now a household name. The wines of Bimbache are so different, so original and above all so Atlantic.

The island is a treasure trove of almost disappeared or forgotten grape varieties that no longer exist anywhere or at least not in the quality as they occur here. Luis Gutiérrez for Parker says: "El Hierro is a tiny island that is considered the repository of local grape varieties, as it has been frozen in time for a long time. In fact, everything is so slow there that visiting the island is akin to time traveling.The risk is that many vineyards are being abandoned, as there is a lack of young people to take over.Thank God for projects like this!They have two hectares of vineyards and work a further three hectares from local growers, and in 2019 they produced a grand total of 5,000 bottles."

The Bimbache Tinto is a blend of Listan Negro, Listan Prieto, Verijadiego tinto. These are typical (and unique) grapes located on the south side of the Canary Island of El Hierro. This place is warmer and better suited for the blue grapes. The places to grow grapes for red wine on this island are very limited so there is very little volume (although volume is already extremely low with around 5000 bottles total for Bimbache. The south side is very volcanic and there are only a few spots where vineyard planting is possible but whatever comes from it is nothing short of amazing.All the vineyards are organically farmed and the wines are made in a non-interventionist way, with only the addition of sulphite at bottling, without clarification or filtering. only made around 500 bottles.

The grapes for the Bimbache Tinto are de-zipped and then macerated for 2 weeks in stainless steel barrels. Fermentation without temperature control - nature has to do its job. Then another aging of about a year in the cuves. Only native yeasts are used. Bottled without clarification or filtering. In the glass, the Bimbache Tinto has a very bright light ruby red color. In the nose we smell aromas of potpourri, lava stone, pumice and mineral notes. Very original. Nice acidity and fine tannins in the mouth. The wine is very elegant with a good backbone and a long "volcanic" finish.

Advice is to decant the wine in his youth.