Suertes del Marqués

In our continuous search for new, exciting and elegant wines from indigenous grape varieties, we were tipped off to Tenerife. We had to visit the area known as Las Suertes, in the Orotava Valley in the north of Tenerife, to taste the distinctive wines of Suertes del Marqués. And so it happened.

Jackpot
Sometimes you have those visits where everything is just right. Where a kind of tension starts to arise during the first introduction… Have we got something here? But we remained critical. In the beautiful tasting room, everything was prepared down to the last detail. The first wines were tasted, the eyes of the tasters began to sparkle and glances were exchanged. And after tasting the last wine: high five! We congratulated Jonatan García Lima on his new importer in Holland.

Tradition, nature and knowledge
Jonatan García is the young owner of Suertes del Marqués. The company has only actually been making its own wines since 2006; Until then, the grapes were sold. A large part of his vineyards are more than 100 years old. They are located on 17 hectares of vineyard, divided over 21 plots that are 350 to 700 meters above sea level. The vines are formed according to a traditional system, the cordón trenzado, in which the sometimes more than 20 meter long shoots are guided along the ground.

Completely renovated cellar

The cellar – which was reopened with a big party in March 2019 – by the mayor of Orotava has been renovated into a completely state-of-the-art modern version. Jonatan’s approach is modern-traditional, with a strong dose of ‘natural’. During the entire process, he intervenes as little as possible. All the work is done by hand and he uses only indigenous yeasts. Fermentation takes place in 2500 and 4500 liter foeders from Franz Stockinger and cement cuves.

Anfors style
García – a great lover and connoisseur of Burgundy wines – works as in Burgundy. The different vineyards are vinified and bottled separately. Only ‘neutral’ wood is used without toasting. The early harvest gives the wines slenderness and precision. Suertes del Marqués is not looking for concentration, but for elegance and digestibility. And that is precisely our style.