Bermejo, Lanzarote DO (Canary Islands, Spain) Listán Negro 2021

 Wow!  The aromas of ripe plum, pomegranate, blueberries, strawberries and rose petals leap from the glass with an invitation to enjoy this lively, juicy wine.  Bursting with the flavors promised by the aromas with bright acidity and very smooth tannins, it is a very versatile wine.  It is equally at home with the flavors of a holiday dinner, or a burger or picnic.  The grape is Listán Negro, native to the Canary Islands, which is sometimes confused with Listán Prieto, the Mission grape brought to the New World by the Spanish.  This wine’s charming flavors, crisp acidity and smooth as silk tannins are due to the process of carbonic maceration, in which hand-harvested grape clusters are blanketed with carbon dioxide, eliminating oxygen.  In this environment, fermentation begins within the grape until it bursts.  Then skins are separated from the fruit and the remaining or added yeasts continue fermenting the grape sugars to dryness.