Spain

While visiting Castilla y León in 2020, sommelier Terry Kandylis spotted several abandoned plots of centennial bush vines around the village of Canalejas de Peñafiel. Within weeks he had established Bendito Destino ('Blessed Destiny') and set about restoring 4ha of Tempranillo, Garnacha, and Albillo vines using dry farming and organics. He immediately turned heads with an impressive first vintage.In a region known for ripe, highly extracted wines, Terry draws on Burgundian techniques with gentle punch downs and extractions to highlight the purity of the fruit. Harvested at night and destemmed by hand, grapes are foot-trodden and fermented with wild yeasts in open containers, and then bottled unfined and unfiltered.From four 100-year-old plots, his Albillo Mayor is fermented in French oak and aged for six months on lees, its floral-edged fruit balanced by tangy acidity. His Clarete – a blend of red and white grapes sourced from 'Carramimbre', 'Navazal', and 'El Olmar' – is vibrant and energetic, with crunchy red berries and a fine saline streak. Co-fermented with partial whole bunches, the Field Blend is aged for 14 months in a variety of vessels, offering smoky dark fruit and velvety tannins, as well as serious ageing potential. Terry also crafts a tiny number of single-site wines, which are now available for the first time.Bendito Destino's wines combine textural harmony and weight of fruit with a wonderful sense of vitality, and have already achieved listings in leading restaurants across the UK and Spain.

Bendito Destino

Wines

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