Carmelo Peña hails from Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, and he sort of fell into wine the way many of us do. He initially decided to study chemistry on the Spanish mainland, and after dabbling in hospitality he discovered his love for wine, which caused him to change his course a bit.
He studied enology at the Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona. This was to prove significant, because another student there was Luis Pedro, who then moved to work for Niepoort in the Douro, where he’s currently the table wine winemaker. Carmelo went to work for Niepoort, where he stayed a couple of years, and also worked with Raul Perez in Bierzo, before heading back to work as winemaker at Bodega San Juan in Gran Canaria. This gave him the chance to start his own project, Bien de Altura. This focuses on distinguished terroirs on the island, many of which are abandoned, and where there are some very old vines. He’s mainly concentrating on the San Mateo region in the northeast of the island, with vineyards over 1100 m in altitude.
I first came across him when he was making the Puro Rofe wines in Lanzarote (his involvement there finished in 2021), and now he’s involved in a second Lanzarote project called Jable de Tao, first vintage 2022. These are thrilling wines, just as the Bien de Altura wines are. As you’d expect, winemaking is hands off, and handling of reds is more an infusion than an extraction process. The terroir of both projects helps make these style of wines, too.
He’s also partnered with his friend Luis Pedro on a Portuguese brand called Elemento.
THE WINES
Bien de Altura
Ikewen Tinto 2022 Gran Canaria
First made in 2017. This is a village wine with vineyards 90-120 years old at altitudes 1000-1500 m. 80% Listan Negro, the remainder other local varieties. Picked early, 100% whole bunch, 35 days on skins, stainless steel. Juicy and fine with redcurrant fruit and a slight herbiness. Very bright with purity and elegance. 94/100
Ikewen 2020 Gran Canaria
60% whole bunch this year, 45 day maceration. Pale red and slightly cloudy. So fresh, supple and peppery. Fine with juicy cherries and redcurrants. Very fine with lovely elegance, showing amazing fruit focus and nice sappy notes. 95/100
Agan 2022 Gran Canaria
From 1200 m this is 100% whole bunch, matured in oak. This has remarkable energy with good acidity. Structured and refined with red fruits and nice spiciness, as well as stony mineral notes. Vivid, grippy and refined. 96/100
Agan 2020 Gran Canaria
This wine started when Carmelo gave his girlfriend 400 kg of fruit and a barrel. She did it 60% whole bunch. He did a barrel with 100% whole bunch, and they blended the two. It’s from a north-facing plot at 1200 m. So supple and ethereal with a pale colour and stony, grainy notes as well as some mineral character. A lovely texture: fine, light, sappy and really beautiful. 96/100
Tidao 2022 Gran Canaria
130 year old vines from rocky soils with some sand. Detailed peppery nose with bright redcurrant fruit. So vivid on the palate with stony, juicy red fruits and some grippy tannins. Nice freshness here, as well as structure. 96/100
Tidao 2020 Gran Canaria
This is the second vintage of this wine made from a parcel of 130 year old vines facing SE at 1100 m. Fermented in oak and then aged in tank with the lees from the press. A mix of varieties, some white, 100% whole bunch. Lovely aromatics here: fine, fresh red cherry fruit with some lovely cranberry notes and dried herbs. Fresh palate with redcurrants and iodine. Sappy and grainy with good acidity. 96/100
Sansofi 2022 Gran Canaria
This was the first vineyard he worked with, and one that Carmelo recuperated. It’s a steep north-facing vineyard that’s quite exposed, at 1400 m, with 90 year old vines. 100% whole bunch then aged in used Niepoort barrels (used for Charme). Very fine, mineral, complex and elegant, with a waxy edge to the lively strawberry and cherry fruit with some richness on the mid-palate. Such energy and brightness here: really focused and very fine. 96/100
Sansofi 2020 Gran Canaria
So textural and rounded. Supple with lovely red cherry and wild strawberry with warmth and sweetness on the palate. Juicy with some mineral and iodine notes. So expressive with lovely texture. 95/100
Ikewen Blanco 2019 Gran Canaria
Aged in Redoma barrels from Niepoort, and spends 2 years under flor. A blend of lots of white varieties. Fine, juicy and saline with lovely weight and some mineral character. Apple and pear fruit. Quite Jura-like, with amazing energy and a rounded texture. 95/100
Jable de Tao
Lanzarote is just 100 km from Africa. The soils here are 16 million years old, and aren’t just volcanic. Some of them were formed under the sea and so there’s some limestone here as well as the famed volcanic soils.
Jable de Tao Blanco 2022 Lanzarote
This is from several plots, and a few different local varieties. Linear, complex and intense with citrus, pear and some pithiness. This has a salty twist, with great concentration of fruit. 94/100
Jable de Tao La Diego 2022 Lanzarote
This is from vineyards around a volcano, and it’s varietal Diego. Vivid, salty and pithy with nice tart lemony fruit, and notes of orange peel. Great intensity here with mineral tension and some structure. Stony and mineral. 95/100
Jable de Tao Tenessar 2022 Lanzarote
Malvasia Volcanico, from vineyards 2 km from the sea. 100 year old vines. So salty and linear with lovely energy. Fine, taut, juicy and mineral with some hints of almond and a lovely stony character. 95/100
Jable de Tao Chupadero 2022 Lanzarote
This is a Listan Blanco vineyard from inside a crater. Lovely matchstick reduction on the nose with pithy lemony fruit. Stony, mineral palate with great energy and some dried herbs. Lively and bright with nice weight. 95/100
UK agent: Indigo Wine
