Ocampo Tenerife Vijariego Negro 2023
£27.25
The wine
An expressive profile of ripe red fruits, toasted caramel and delicate spice.
Vijariego Negro is a rare Canary red, high in acidity and firmly tannic, and it was close to disappearing before growers like this began bottling it separately. Tenerife vines grow on volcanic ash and lava at altitudes up to 1,500 metres, and the Canaries were never reached by phylloxera, so the islands hold ungrafted vines of great age in varieties that vanished from mainland Spain. Some are trained in *cordon trenzado*, plaited ropes of vine metres long, a method found nowhere else.
The producer
Ocampo
View all Ocampo winesOcampo crafts characterful, volcanic wines on the Atlantic island of Tenerife, one of the wine world's most dramatic and exciting frontiers. From vineyards on the slopes of a great volcano, it champions the island's native grapes and singular terroir.
The vineyards sit on black volcanic soils, cooled by Atlantic breezes and often worked from ungrafted old vines that survived the phylloxera plague. This unique setting gives wines of freshness, smoky minerality and true individuality.
The range celebrates Tenerife's indigenous varieties, from the crisp, mineral Listán Blanco and an aromatic Vidueño field blend to the fragrant Listán Negro and rare Vijariego Negro reds. Each is distinctly volcanic and utterly original.
Fresh, mineral and thrillingly different, Ocampo's wines are a journey to one of the world's most unusual wine regions. They reward the adventurous drinker.
