Description
Terry Kandylis has had an illustrious career as a sommelier. It’s seen him running wine programs at some of the UK’s most famed institutions, such as 67 Pall Mall, The Fat Duck and the Noble Rot group. He won UK’s Best Sommelier in 2015, and Greece’s Best Sommelier in 2016. Then, along came the pandemic to certainly throw a spanner in the works.
A detour to Ribera del Duero en-route to the Canary Islands in late 2020 led Terry stumbled upon some of the most historic vineyards he had ever seen, which had been abandoned. Excitement grew, seeing the potential of these old vines, and working with the oldest vigneron in the village of Canalejas de Penafiel to develop a greater insight to the region, plans came to be to revitalise these intriguing old plots. 40% of the domaine’s holdings are vines over 100 years old.
The approach is of a gentle touch in the cellar – spontaneous fermentation, gentle extraction of a combination of whole berry and whole bunch, minimal use of new oak. The utmost respect is paid through the parcels, culminating in a series of six single vineyard bottlings, including a single vineyard white bottling of centeranian Albillo.
‘Bendito Destino’ translates as ‘Blessed Destiny’, with Terry viewing himself as incredibly blessed to be able to work with these vineyards and preserve their history.
The wines truly speak of what is possible from Ribera del Duero, with detailed layers of flavour and balance whilst retaining vibrancy and life through a nuanced expression of their origin.
