Borja Perez Viticultor
- Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Throughout the last decade we have closely followed the transformation that the Canary Island wines have been through and witnessed first-hand as the growers and producers in the region came unto their craft, starting to learn and express their individual voices. Borja Perez is one such grower, and his recent trajectory is a glowing example of this process. He grew up in a family that made wines for generations, however those wines weren’t exactly expressive of terroir, and were more amateur, commercial offerings, made for domestic consumption and big markets. When he took the plunge in 2011 and created his own label, Ignios, Borja embarked on a serious venture, learning and working the terroir of his native Tenerife with extreme focus and craft.
He started with the 2 hectares of his family, mainly planted with Baboso and Listán Negro. Demand soared, and in 2014 he introduced a new line, Artifice, from purchased grapes. Today he owns 7 hectares of vineyards planted with Albillo, Vijariego Negro, and Marmajuelo, as well as the original plantings of Baboso and Listán Negro. He also works another 4 hectares of vineyards from 6 different growers.
Unlike 2017, with its extreme temperatures and drought, 2018 was a balanced year, with cooler temperatures, specially in Northern Tenerife, and the conditions to make fresher wines were ideal. You see it here in the Artifices, which are brighter, less tense, and simply more easy to drink than the previous vintage.