Gran Canaria is the second-most populous of the volcanic Canary Islands after Tenerife, hosting Las Palmas - 1 of the 2 capitals of the islands, along with Santa Cruz de Tenerife - and peaked by Pico de las Nieves at 1949m elevation. It’s considered desert due to its consistent warm temperatures and minimal rainfall, but there's also extreme variations in climate and landscape. Winemaker Carmelo Pena Santana worked in Chile, Portugal’s Douro, and Ribeira Sacra in Spain before deciding to return to his native Gran Canaria in order to resurrect every fallow, noble, forgotten vineyard site he could find. The vines he works with are at particularly high altitudes, often 1200m or higher — that's above the cloud line, and his Sansofi cuvée is exclusively from a vineyard of 90+ year old vines. Native grapes, whole-cluster fermented in open-top barrel, with no added sulfur. An incredibly sleek wine, with high-pitched herbal scents and volcanic smoky brushings - give it some time in the decanter to let the red berry notes start to shine.
