Ignios Orígenes/Borja Pérez Marmajuelo Blanco 2018
Location: Spain, Canary Islands, Ycoden-Daute-Isora
Winemaker: Borja Pérez González
Grapes: Marmajuelo Blanco
From us at M&L: Ignios Orígenes is dedicated to varietal wines from single vineyards, all meticulously farmed by Borja Pérez and channeled into intense, exciting, and age-worthy wines. Marmajuelo is one of the rarer Canarian white grapes, temperamental to farm and flamboyant in the cellar. Unlike many of the other local varieties, it has not been identified with any known grape from the Iberian peninsula. There are a few rows of Marmajuelo that were planted 25 years ago in Finca La Vizcondesa, overlooking the Ignios Baboso vineyard. Relative to the austerity of a lot of the Canarian white grapes, Marmajuelo’s extroverted aromas and serious textures provide a different perspective on the local terroir (as well a fascinating trajectory over time in bottle...).
From the Importer MFW: Borja Pérez Gonzalez is a fourth-generation winemaker from Tenerife, where his family has been making wine since 1927. He grew up in his family's winery in La Guancha, a town and municipality in the northwest of Tenerife surrounded by a stunning variety of vineyards in the historic growing area of Ycoden-Daute-Isora DO. Borja studied agronomy in college, then worked as a firefighter and racecar mechanic before buying the family winery from his father and uncle and launching his own project in 2011: Ignios Orígenes. He aims to preserve tradition while breaking the mold with his thoroughly unique volcanic wines. While discussions of Canary Island wines are often dominated by the obscurity of the local varieties, the own-rooted vineyards, the dramatic volcanic terroirs, and their customized training methods, Borja's wines are fascinating beyond the sum of their undeniably esoteric parts. Ignios Orígenes is dedicated to highlighting single vineyards of Tenerife's most intriguing local grape varieties: Listán Negro, Baboso Negro, Vijariego Negro, and the rare white Marmajuelo. Variety, microclimate, and vintage are felt intensely in each Ignios wine. The sites are susceptible to the extremes of subtropical viticulture (as well as climate change), which radically affects yields and Borja's ability to produce a steady supply of each wine every year. Artífice (Spanish for "creator" or "artisan") is an homage to Borja's winegrower grandfather (whose weathered hands feature on the labels) as well as the growers with whom Borja collaborates closely. These are stunning regional wines, composed of many tiny parcels that combine to express the diverse soils, altitudes, and farming styles of Ycoden-Daute-Isora. Throughout the entire range, Borja's farming is organic, and winemaking is natural, with no additives other than SO2, no temperature control, stabilization, clarifying (other than natural settling), or fining. The wines display aromatic exuberance, rich textures, depth of flavor, and an overall level of sophistication that is frankly shocking coming from a young winemaker, particularly one who didn't grow up in a region known for sensitive, terroir-driven winemaking.