Puro Rofe Uga 2022

Rayco Fernández and his team in Lanzarote launched the Puro Rofe project in 2017 and surprised the Canary Island wine scene with their single varietal and plot-based wines.

This Uga Tinto is made from the native and main variety of the islands, Listán Negro, grown in the area of Yaiza, further south of the winery and the rest of their plots. The vines are planted in traditional pits ("hoyos") in the south of the valley, a dry and arid area, but the resulting wine tells a different story.

The grapes are harvested in mid-July, and fermented spontaneously for 45 days in open vats, followed by 8 months of refinement in old French oak barrels. The wine is neither filtered nor clarified, and only very little sulphur dioxide is added for preservation.

Our impressions: the wine transports you to the vineyards surrounded by these volcanic sands, with notes of smoke, ash, and matchstick sulphur, but underneath wild red fruits (such as blueberry, strawberry and wild cherry) abound, along with notes of pink grapefruit. The palate is very fresh with marked acidity, few silky tannins, light-bodied with a very long finish with notes of the same fruits and even a salty taste.

A wine true to its origin! One of the best reds we have tasted from the island!