A blend of Listán Negro (90%) from both estate fruit and purchased fruit from 10 different vineyards (their ages ranging from 10 to approx. 180 years) farmed by 35 different contract growers, along with some estate-grown Tintilla (10% - I'm not sure if this Trousseau or some other variety that goes by the name "Tintilla", eg. Tintilla Castellana aka. Tinto Cão). Aged for 8 months in concrete (60%) and 500-liter Allier oak barrels (40%). 13% alcohol and 5,0 g/l acidity.
Somewhat translucent and very slightly hazy cherry-red color with a moderately evolved maroon hue. Quite a bit of reduction in the nose that shows characterful yet moderately stuffy aromas of smoke and volcanic sulphurous tones, some salty liquorice, a little bit of wood bark, light notes of tobacco, red-toned hints of cherries and brambly raspberries, a touch of crushed peppercorns and a whiff of flinty smoke. The wine feels lively, crunchy and quite intense on the palate with a medium body and dry flavors of crushed peppercorns and smoky reduction, some brambly notes of black raspberries, a little bit of tobacco, light crunchy notes of crowberries, red-toned hints of fresh cherries and tart red plums and a touch of licorice root. The overall feel is firm and moderately structured, thanks to the high acidity and somewhat grippy medium tannins. The finish is long, fresh and juicy with a dry aftertaste of tobacco and smoky volcanic tones, some crunchy cranberry notes, a little bit of crushed peppercorn, light brambly notes of raspberries, a hint of sour cherry bitterness and a touch of fresh red plum.
A very nice, youthful and juicy Canary Islands red that is still super reductive, smoky and quite closed in nature, despite its 5½ years of age. Unlike the 2015 vintage, which felt weird and even somewhat vegetal, this wine is very true to the style of Suertes del Marqués, showing bright, dry fruit and lots of smoky volcanic elements. This wine still could use some further aging and even then a good deal of aeration is heartily recommended. These Suertes del Marqués wines aren't just pop'n'pour stuff. Lovely stuff with lots of upside - and unlike many TNs before me, I didn't pick up any bretty notes at any point. Just reduction. Priced somewhat according to its quality at 23,98€.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Interesting evolution over 4 hours. Started off like a cool climate Pinot Noir, then eventually darkened in both colour and flavour profile. Ended the night in the realm of a high quality Chilean Cab Sauv. Really cool and complex.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Some brett over a red fruited nose, soft and silky, interesting palate, showing orange peel, strawberry and umami seasonings, rustic, light to medium bodied and food friendly, unique
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Purple red, not entirely clear. Aromas of cherries, herbs, smoke, lava stone and some honey and barn. Burgundy like in the mouth, with fine tannins. Fresh and firm.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Fruity, high toned & thin. Tons of sulfur. In a nutshell.
On opening: aromas of ripe purple fruit, as well as brett bordering on house paddock. Gave this 4.5 hours in decanter. The schtank mostly blows off. The fruit here is very high toned: bright pomegranate and orange peel. Palate: fruit replays, but thin and watery. Not much weight, complexity or depth. Earthy, tart finish.
Tasted this blind, I'd peg it for a lower end Cote du Rhone that the LCBO loves to offer around $16. But for $30? That can get much better CdR Villages or Vacqueyras.
Edit - tasted 2nd half of bottle that was left to slow ox for a week in the fridge. There’s even more sulfur, especially on the nose. The fruit is still high toned red berries, and watery. Definitely not a buy again for me.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This pours light ruby in the glass, just a touch cloudy with a large onion skin rim. The nose is lifted and complex. High intensity and high complexity showing creosote, caper brine, sea spray, cherry, cranberry, raspberry, burnt orange peel, fresh bay leaf, and cardamom. As reported by a lot of tasters this is a touch reduced, but in my view it adds complexity and somewhat dissipates with air. on the nose alone I'd be calling this a light weight northern rhone syrah blind, perhaps even a little resemblance to something from the Rayas stable. On the palate it enters on lovely sweet red fruit, burnt orange peel and caper brine. Tannin is very low and acid is medium plus. The finish is long replaying loads of red fruit, burnt orange peel, and saline. This is drinking spectacularly well right now. So glad to have 10 more bottles.
This was a weird one. A lot of people describe the nose as reductive but the first thing that came to mind was “penicillin.” Really tough to stomach. The palate is totally different, with pure red fruit, pepper and herbaceousness. Held up very well over a 24-hour period, though the medicinal nose never really blew off.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Au nez, du souffre, de la réduction, quelques baies noires croquantes à travers. Besoin de beaucoup d'air, mais les défauts ne se sont jamais estompé sur 4-5H.... La bouhe est fraiche et vivace, minérale, terroir, mais les arômes sont trop déroutants sur cette bouteille....
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is a wine you either love or hate. There have even been nights where I loved it and other nights were meh. Decanting is important to blow off any chemical nose. The wine is medium bodied and very interesting. Sour cherry, currants, tar, and earth are dominant. Great nose once the wine settles down.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Burgundy like color. Strong and peculiar aromas of volcanic minerals, smoke, herbs, permanent liquid and some bacymicin. Firm and fruity, with a Burgundy like mouth feeling and a dry finish. Considered the volcanic aromas, a better comparison is maybe an Etna Rosso.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
second all the comments about the strong sulfide notes opening up. Didn't get that on the palate but still wished i had a decanter. Looking past that this is just a really delicious medium-weight red, crunchy and earthy, beautifully textured.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Four and a half hours in a wide-based decanter REQUIRED to handle the reduction and to reveal an energetic red-fruited wine with tart blue berries and meaty fennel-sausage notes.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Yes this is very reductive and funky right upon opening and I find most reds from Suertes del Marques to be just like that. So it needs a proper decant to come together.
When most of the smoky, farty reduction has disappeared the wine shows bright red fruit, Mediterranean herbs, crushed flint, lavender and bay leaves. Fresh and juicy mouthfeel with smooth tannins and good intensity to the flavors. A nice little volatile tang on the finish.
For being a entry level wine this has charm and personality and shows the style of this producer in a good way. I've tasted some of their better cuvées and remember them as cleaner and not as reductive. For barely 15 euro this is really good in my opinion.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pale brick in colour Light bodied Aromas of funk, savoury, and gravel. Forest floor and herbs. Smells of reduction! Underripe black fruits. Nutmeg. Low tannin. Medium acidity. After some aeration to open it up, the black fruits and nutmeg become more prominent. But even when suffering from reduction it was very interesting precisely because of its faults.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
So reduced that I poured it back and forth between two decanters a couple of dozen times. It worked! tons and tons of air *required*.
Staring from then, a tastily thought-provoking, medium or light-weight wine with just enough fresh fruit precariously balanced against the stony persona and regal structure.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Medium plus nose shows fuuuunk, barnyard, forest, dirt, there's red fruit in there somewhere, white pepper. Palate is much more approachable, dried raspberry, cherry, light spice, some of the funk is there as mushroom, nice light body, medium plus acidity. Very unique and interesting, not sure how it would go over with the general public.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This wine smelled like a Petri dish upon opening, just ravaged by bacteria. Beyond funky, just bad. I decanted it and left it for a half hour and it must have just been severe reduction because it mostly blew off. Then there were aromas of dark plummy fruit, Rosemary, and the volcanic kind of minerality that I recognize from some Mt Erna wines. It’s an intriguing wine and I would like to taste a truly clean version, because although this one improved, it never fully cleaned up.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Ruby cloudy color. Very interesting nose with sewage, and old eggs. Lingonberries and allspice on the palette. Very interesting wine, but the reductive style is a bit much for me.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
gunpowder nose upon opening which i really find interesting about this wine,..have had several bottles now and the nose is consistent..some bright fruit with some acidity..i must mention that my son did not like the smell or the wine..everyone is different.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
love this wine..you can smell and taste the dust the terror the gunpowder bright fruit mineralogy..just a very complex wine..and a great bargain in my opinion!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
12/20/2023 - Alexandraafsson wrote: 78 Points
Earthy, smokey, mushrooms, sulfur-smelling in a nice way, charcuterie
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/1/2023 - forceberry wrote: 91 Points
A blend of Listán Negro (90%) from both estate fruit and purchased fruit from 10 different vineyards (their ages ranging from 10 to approx. 180 years) farmed by 35 different contract growers, along with some estate-grown Tintilla (10% - I'm not sure if this Trousseau or some other variety that goes by the name "Tintilla", eg. Tintilla Castellana aka. Tinto Cão). Aged for 8 months in concrete (60%) and 500-liter Allier oak barrels (40%). 13% alcohol and 5,0 g/l acidity.
Somewhat translucent and very slightly hazy cherry-red color with a moderately evolved maroon hue. Quite a bit of reduction in the nose that shows characterful yet moderately stuffy aromas of smoke and volcanic sulphurous tones, some salty liquorice, a little bit of wood bark, light notes of tobacco, red-toned hints of cherries and brambly raspberries, a touch of crushed peppercorns and a whiff of flinty smoke. The wine feels lively, crunchy and quite intense on the palate with a medium body and dry flavors of crushed peppercorns and smoky reduction, some brambly notes of black raspberries, a little bit of tobacco, light crunchy notes of crowberries, red-toned hints of fresh cherries and tart red plums and a touch of licorice root. The overall feel is firm and moderately structured, thanks to the high acidity and somewhat grippy medium tannins. The finish is long, fresh and juicy with a dry aftertaste of tobacco and smoky volcanic tones, some crunchy cranberry notes, a little bit of crushed peppercorn, light brambly notes of raspberries, a hint of sour cherry bitterness and a touch of fresh red plum.
A very nice, youthful and juicy Canary Islands red that is still super reductive, smoky and quite closed in nature, despite its 5½ years of age. Unlike the 2015 vintage, which felt weird and even somewhat vegetal, this wine is very true to the style of Suertes del Marqués, showing bright, dry fruit and lots of smoky volcanic elements. This wine still could use some further aging and even then a good deal of aeration is heartily recommended. These Suertes del Marqués wines aren't just pop'n'pour stuff. Lovely stuff with lots of upside - and unlike many TNs before me, I didn't pick up any bretty notes at any point. Just reduction. Priced somewhat according to its quality at 23,98€.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/26/2022 - Lukas_w Likes this wine: 92 Points
Interesting evolution over 4 hours. Started off like a cool climate Pinot Noir, then eventually darkened in both colour and flavour profile. Ended the night in the realm of a high quality Chilean Cab Sauv. Really cool and complex.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/2/2021 - whits wrote: 87 Points
Some brett over a red fruited nose, soft and silky, interesting palate, showing orange peel, strawberry and umami seasonings, rustic, light to medium bodied and food friendly, unique
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/31/2021 - AudunG wrote: 87 Points
Purple red, not entirely clear. Aromas of cherries, herbs, smoke, lava stone and some honey and barn. Burgundy like in the mouth, with fine tannins. Fresh and firm.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/26/2021 - GrigelNolla Likes this wine: 88 Points
Matchstick and rubber on the nose. Plum and spice. Excellent minerality. Hints of wet wood and seashells. Very smooth and delicious wine all around
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/25/2021 - dkfinancial Does not like this wine: 82 Points
Fruity, high toned & thin. Tons of sulfur. In a nutshell.
On opening: aromas of ripe purple fruit, as well as brett bordering on house paddock. Gave this 4.5 hours in decanter. The schtank mostly blows off. The fruit here is very high toned: bright pomegranate and orange peel. Palate: fruit replays, but thin and watery. Not much weight, complexity or depth. Earthy, tart finish.
Tasted this blind, I'd peg it for a lower end Cote du Rhone that the LCBO loves to offer around $16. But for $30? That can get much better CdR Villages or Vacqueyras.
Edit - tasted 2nd half of bottle that was left to slow ox for a week in the fridge. There’s even more sulfur, especially on the nose. The fruit is still high toned red berries, and watery. Definitely not a buy again for me.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/6/2021 - Wine Canuck wrote: 92 Points
This pours light ruby in the glass, just a touch cloudy with a large onion skin rim. The nose is lifted and complex. High intensity and high complexity showing creosote, caper brine, sea spray, cherry, cranberry, raspberry, burnt orange peel, fresh bay leaf, and cardamom. As reported by a lot of tasters this is a touch reduced, but in my view it adds complexity and somewhat dissipates with air. on the nose alone I'd be calling this a light weight northern rhone syrah blind, perhaps even a little resemblance to something from the Rayas stable. On the palate it enters on lovely sweet red fruit, burnt orange peel and caper brine. Tannin is very low and acid is medium plus. The finish is long replaying loads of red fruit, burnt orange peel, and saline. This is drinking spectacularly well right now. So glad to have 10 more bottles.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
1/30/2021 - wkasimer wrote: flawed
Most vile smell, like the volcano had erupted. Probably bacterial with volatile by products
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/5/2021 - brandonmoyse wrote: 87 Points
This was a weird one. A lot of people describe the nose as reductive but the first thing that came to mind was “penicillin.” Really tough to stomach. The palate is totally different, with pure red fruit, pepper and herbaceousness. Held up very well over a 24-hour period, though the medicinal nose never really blew off.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/18/2020 - ManuKey wrote: flawed
Au nez, du souffre, de la réduction, quelques baies noires croquantes à travers. Besoin de beaucoup d'air, mais les défauts ne se sont jamais estompé sur 4-5H.... La bouhe est fraiche et vivace, minérale, terroir, mais les arômes sont trop déroutants sur cette bouteille....
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/24/2020 - Hortus Likes this wine: 84 Points
Dégageait une odeur de soufre.. mais bon malgré tout
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/13/2020 - nadecesse wrote: 89 Points
Matière très typé nature de fruits rouges clairs avec une minéralité ultra présente qui évoque un peu le soufre. Très bon pour le prix. 89
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/26/2020 - sirwine Likes this wine: 89 Points
This is a wine you either love or hate. There have even been nights where I loved it and other nights were meh. Decanting is important to blow off any chemical nose. The wine is medium bodied and very interesting. Sour cherry, currants, tar, and earth are dominant. Great nose once the wine settles down.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/4/2020 - AudunG wrote: 87 Points
Burgundy like color. Strong and peculiar aromas of volcanic minerals, smoke, herbs, permanent liquid and some bacymicin. Firm and fruity, with a Burgundy like mouth feeling and a dry finish. Considered the volcanic aromas, a better comparison is maybe an Etna Rosso.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/5/2020 - zhearr wrote:
second all the comments about the strong sulfide notes opening up. Didn't get that on the palate but still wished i had a decanter. Looking past that this is just a really delicious medium-weight red, crunchy and earthy, beautifully textured.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/28/2019 - jonaspq Likes this wine: 90 Points
Very reductive on opening! After the barnyard funk blows off, the wine shows nice red fruit, salty minerality and good acidity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/8/2019 - ZMAng wrote:
Sampler. Sulfur, cherry, good acidity, moderate tannins.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/24/2019 - Rollerball wrote: 92 Points
Four and a half hours in a wide-based decanter REQUIRED to handle the reduction and to reveal an energetic red-fruited wine with tart blue berries and meaty fennel-sausage notes.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/12/2019 - karl.1480 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Yes this is very reductive and funky right upon opening and I find most reds from Suertes del Marques to be just like that. So it needs a proper decant to come together.
When most of the smoky, farty reduction has disappeared the wine shows bright red fruit, Mediterranean herbs, crushed flint, lavender and bay leaves. Fresh and juicy mouthfeel with smooth tannins and good intensity to the flavors. A nice little volatile tang on the finish.
For being a entry level wine this has charm and personality and shows the style of this producer in a good way. I've tasted some of their better cuvées and remember them as cleaner and not as reductive. For barely 15 euro this is really good in my opinion.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/5/2019 - Alykhan V wrote: 86 Points
Significant variation between bottles (see my previous review).
Tried two glasses from two different bottles this evening. The first had much lower acidity than the second. Both lacked fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/13/2019 - Alykhan V Likes this wine: 90 Points
Pale brick in colour
Light bodied
Aromas of funk, savoury, and gravel. Forest floor and herbs. Smells of reduction! Underripe black fruits. Nutmeg. Low tannin. Medium acidity.
After some aeration to open it up, the black fruits and nutmeg become more prominent. But even when suffering from reduction it was very interesting precisely because of its faults.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/10/2019 - NickEnro Likes this wine: 89 Points
Manure, barnyard funk on the nose. Fresh fruit with balanced structure. Slightly tangy.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/7/2019 - Rollerball wrote: 91 Points
So reduced that I poured it back and forth between two decanters a couple of dozen times. It worked! tons and tons of air *required*.
Staring from then, a tastily thought-provoking, medium or light-weight wine with just enough fresh fruit precariously balanced against the stony persona and regal structure.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/3/2019 - trayhumphrey Does not like this wine: 89 Points
It has a lot of funk and old cheese going on. Strong minerality.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/5/2019 - GTFreek wrote:
Medium plus nose shows fuuuunk, barnyard, forest, dirt, there's red fruit in there somewhere, white pepper. Palate is much more approachable, dried raspberry, cherry, light spice, some of the funk is there as mushroom, nice light body, medium plus acidity. Very unique and interesting, not sure how it would go over with the general public.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/26/2019 - brooklynguy wrote:
This wine smelled like a Petri dish upon opening, just ravaged by bacteria. Beyond funky, just bad. I decanted it and left it for a half hour and it must have just been severe reduction because it mostly blew off. Then there were aromas of dark plummy fruit, Rosemary, and the volcanic kind of minerality that I recognize from some Mt Erna wines. It’s an intriguing wine and I would like to taste a truly clean version, because although this one improved, it never fully cleaned up.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/15/2019 - Nyllet wrote: 84 Points
Ruby cloudy color. Very interesting nose with sewage, and old eggs. Lingonberries and allspice on the palette. Very interesting wine, but the reductive style is a bit much for me.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/12/2019 - Ticker tape guy Likes this wine: 90 Points
gunpowder nose upon opening which i really find interesting about this wine,..have had several bottles now and the nose is consistent..some bright fruit with some acidity..i must mention that my son did not like the smell or the wine..everyone is different.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/22/2019 - Ticker tape guy Likes this wine: 92 Points
love this wine..you can smell and taste the dust the terror the gunpowder bright fruit mineralogy..just a very complex wine..and a great bargain in my opinion!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/5/2019 - Ticker tape guy Likes this wine: 93 Points
wow what a nose..dust gunpowder that lingered for some time..stone fruit slight acidity minerals just a very good bottle of wine for my palate
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/29/2019 - Karpius Likes this wine: 90 Points
Mighty volcanic, wine of the .
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment