“In 2006, we decided to establish our own winery,” recalls his son Jonathan García Lima, director of Suertes del Marqués, on how they started buying various plots until they finally assembled a big and lovely vineyard of nine hectares on a spacious estate.

Due to the large number of heirs, reaching an agreement among the proprietors was not easy, but there were also other difficulties such as the elevated cost of the vine terrains compared to other well-known Spanish wine regions: “Buying vine terrain in this area costs 20 to 25 Euros per square meter, while in La Rioja it is only 6 Euros and in Ribera Sacra between 8 and 10 Euros, which makes it one of the most expensive soils in Spain. Buying ground takes a lot of time and money.”

But their patience and sacrifice soon showed positive results. In 2006, they started with the classic dry white, semi-dry white (which in Tenerife is called fruity), traditional red and red aged in barrel, but these early wines were not what they were looking for. At the end of 2007, they met oenologist Roberto Santana Morales and found the style they wanted for their products. Since 2008 they are devoted to what they call “wines from plot.”

At the end of 2007, they met oenologist Roberto Santana and found the style they wanted for their products: “wines from plot”

“The difference,” explains Jonathan García, “is that other wines mix grapes from various areas. We, on the other hand, identify the estate by plots according to their orientation, type of soil or altitude, and create specific wines from each plot, which are called La Solana, Candio, El Ciruelo, Los Pasitos, El Esquilón, etc. We also have basic wines, called Siete Fuentes (white) and Trenzado (red) from different plots, with the difference that these plots are still harvested and fermented separately, but put together before bottling.” That means that the grapes can come from 25 different plots, and since the vineyard does not have the same features in each space, “we have to work each wine differently, some with stems some without; some age in barrel others in concrete containers, because they suffer the influence of wood; some need more maceration and others less.”

Jonathan García, vintner:
“We identify the estate by plots according to their orientation, type of soil or altitude, and create specific wines from each plot”

That is how this winery’s success starts with the vine (“We are very demanding as far as vine growing is concerned, the vines are always short pruned; we make use of natural treatments with sulfur, whey, cinnamon, tisane and copper. We never use fungicides. That is why the grapes have a stronger and more authentic flavor”) and continues with a very respectful production of the wine (“We try to intervene as little as possible. We do not add sulfurous acid: the barrel is protected by the carbonic anhydride that is generated during the fermentation. We do not move them much. We do not add enzymes or aromas”). The success is reflected in the recognition that the wines have received from the most prestigious wine tasters all over the world (Robinson, Tancer, Parker) and its excellent scoring in wine guides (for some years running, it has scored over 90 points in the Guía Peñín: the Best Wines of Spain).

■ Soagronorte SL (Bodega Suertes del Marqués) Las Suertes (El Ratiño), 38300 La Orotava (Tenerife), Islas Canarias (España) Phone: (34) 922 308 033 Email: ventas@suertesdelmarques.com Home page: www.suertesdelmarques.com ● Capacity: 150,000 liters. ● Average production: 100,000 bottles/year. ● Exports 80% of its production to the Spanish Peninsula, France, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Ireland, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, South Korea, Japan and, in the near future, Sweden and Mexico. ♠ Visits by appointment only for professionals or wine lovers. Free of charge. ♣ There is a large tasting lounge.