In the last decade, the Canary Islands, and particularly Tenerife, have become well-known for their volcanic wines. They are wild and intense, yet elegant with superb minerality. During this time, Jonatan Garcia Lima has established Suertes del Marques as one of the finest producers in Tenerife (along with Envinate).

Based in the Valle de la Orotava, the cooler part of Tenerife, Suertes del Marques farms incredibly old vines, some up to 200 years old. Tenerife never suffered phylloxera and is one of only a few places in the world with own-rooted vines. They farm organically using the local training method – cordon trenzado – where long braided vines are held up by crutches.

Not one to sit back and relax, Jonatan Garcia Lima embarked on a new project with his friend, viticulturist Jose Angel Alonso Ramos, called Sortevera. The vineyards are in the Taganana, on the Northeast side of the island, an extremely rugged area where steep cliffs plunge into the sea. These old vines were made famous as single parcel wines from Envinate and now are the basis for the Sortevera wines. Vines here are bush pruned close to the ground.

Both the Suertes del Marques and Sortevera wines are fermented with Indigenous yeast, see minimal sulphur during elevage, and are generally made in large neutral oak barrels. While the Suertes del Marques are often single variety wines, the Sortevera wines are field blends with all varieties harvested and vinified together, lending a wild character to them. There is an unmistakeable volcanic character to these incredibly vibrant and refined wines.