7 Fuentes 2017

The entry-level red is the 2017 7 Fuentes, a Listán Negro blend with some 10% Castellana Negra sourced from up to 25 vineyards from the La Orotava village. This represents a high percentage of their production with 67,000 bottles, which is more than half of their annual output. There were multiple fermentations, some in concrete, some in stainless steel, with around 10% full clusters and always with indigenous yeasts. Seventy percent of the volume was kept in concrete while the remaining 30% matured in used 500-liter oak barrels for nine months. This is a good barometer for the style, character and quality of the vintage, and it shows a little mellower and more approachable than the 2016. It's a little juicier within the pumice and black pepper style that always defines this wine. There are up to eight bottlings from the same master blend.