Borja Pérez Gonzalez is a fourth-generation winemaker from Tenerife, where his family has been making wine since 1927. He grew up in his family’s winery in La Guancha, a town and municipality in the northwest of Tenerife surrounded by a stunning variety of vineyards in the historic growing area of Ycoden-Daute-Isora DO. Borja studied agronomy in college, then worked as a firefighter and racecar mechanic before buying the family winery from his father and uncle and launching his own project in 2011: Ignios Orígenes. He aims to preserve tradition while breaking the mold with his thoroughly unique volcanic wines. While discussions of Canary Island wines are often dominated by the obscurity of the local varieties, the own-rooted vineyards, the dramatic volcanic terroirs, and their customized training methods, Borja’s wines are fascinating beyond the sum of their undeniably esoteric parts. Ignios Orígenes is dedicated to highlighting single vineyards of Tenerife’s most intriguing local grape varieties: Listán Negro, Baboso Negro, Vijariego Negro, and the rare white Marmajuelo. Variety, microclimate, and vintage are felt intensely in each Ignios wine. The sites are susceptible to the extremes of subtropical viticulture (as well as climate change), which radically affects yields and Borja’s ability to produce a steady supply of each wine every year. Artífice (Spanish for “creator” or “artisan”) is an homage to Borja’s winegrower grandfather (whose weathered hands feature on the labels) as well as the growers with whom Borja collaborates closely. These are stunning regional wines, composed of many tiny parcels that combine to express the diverse soils, altitudes, and farming styles of Ycoden-Daute-Isora. Throughout the entire range, Borja’s farming is organic, and winemaking is natural, with no additives other than SO2, no temperature control, stabilization, clarifying (other than natural settling), or fining. The wines display aromatic exuberance, rich textures, depth of flavor, and an overall level of sophistication that is frankly shocking coming from a young winemaker, particularly one who didn’t grow up in a region known for sensitive, terroir-driven winemaking.