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Listán Prieto is a red-wine grape originating (like Don Quixote) in the Castilla-La Mancha region of Spain. Like the Don, it has had rather a wild history, starting many centuries ago. In the mid-16th century, it was carried by Franciscan missionaries to the New World, starting in Mexico then on into Chile and the Argentine. By at least 1620, it had further spread into what is now southern California. During this period, the grape, in its new home, was called simply “the Mission grape”, as it was planted at each of the numerous missions established throughout the region. Some centuries on, in the 19th to be exact, the grape became known in Chile, where it was widely planted, as “País”, by which name it is still known there. Meanwhile, still back in the 16th century, the grape was also carried to the Canary Islands, where it somehow became—erroneously—known as “Moscatel Negro” despite being no sort of Muscat relative. So for centuries, the grape was widely established in the New World from southern South America up through southern California and across to what is now Texas. It was the first Vitis vinifera in the New World, and for a long time the only one.
Since the friars made wine for sacramental not esthetic purposes, and were doing so with primitive winemaking methods, the wines from the “Mission” grape were not very good. In consequence, the grape fell into grave disfavor once real wine-making begain in the New World; for a very long time, the grape was considered as being, at best, a passable-eating table grape. But the world turns…
Nowadays, the grape we today call Listán Prieto (one of three Listán grapes, the others being Listán Negro and Listán Blanca, the latter better known as Palomino Fino) has essentially disappeared from Spain, but is grown in four areas: the Canary Islands (as both Listán Prieto and Moscatel Negro), Chile (still as País), California (as Mission, and rarely used for table wines), and Argentina (as Criolla Chica). There may also be some in Peru, but the naming makes determination difficult.
It is from Chile that the modern upswing in the grape’s fortunes comes. As is so often the case with “rescued” varieties, it was largely the work of one dedicated person that drove the revival (in this case, a Frenchman named Louis-Antoine Luyt). Luyt used carbonic maceration to soften the normally harsh tannins of the grape, and thus enhance its fruit qualities. The resultant wines are light-colored and crisply acidic, low in alcohol, with red-fruit flavors that Jancis Robinson calls “tart”, and a fine texture that becomes yet more silken as the wine is bottle-aged.
Factoid: Despite the genetic match of the variously named grapes, enough clonal variation has occurred over the centuries of their geographical separation that the Mission grape of the Americas and the Listán Prieto grape of the Canary Islands are classified by the Vitis International Variety Catalogue as two separate grape varieties. Part of the variation is likely because some of earliest plantings by the Spanish missionaries were from grape seeds, which are the result of pollination and sexual propagation and thus more likely to have slight differences from the parent vine than the more usual ine propagation using cuttings.
“Chilean producers are creating some País wines that are far from common, undistinguishable table wines. Oh sure, unexceptional País still exists, just like any other prolific variety out there. But there are also a lot of utterly delicious options available…Of course País cannot compete with the greats of Bordeaux, or the Super Tuscans and Napa’s finest. Apples to oranges. It can, however, be a fantastic option for those looking for more natural, low-alcohol, lip-smacking good wines. País is not pretentious, rather rustic and bursting with fruit. It’s fresh and far from mediocre when done right.”
“Chile has more país than any other country in the world—some 9,000 acres—the majority of which is planted in in the Maule, Bío-Bío and Itata regions. Here it has become the keystone grape of Chile’s growing natural wine movement—prized not only for its ability to produce excellent wines but for the age of the vines and the viticultural traditions they represent…These old-vine grapes can produce wines that range from dense and rich, if the grapes are left to fully ripen, to the juicy and ethereal wines made in the pipeño style. This method, in which the grapes are de-stemmed by rubbing the clusters over a reed mat, then foot-treaded and aged for a year in old barrels or concrete vats, is the way most país was historically made.”
“I’ve had pretty much all the Missions produced in CA (as well as quite a few Chilean Pais ones and Listen Prietos). And I’ve yet to find one I didn't like. And when I check [CellarTracker], I can’t find anyone below 88pts, so where this poor grape got its reputation for ‘not being suitable for winemaking’ is beyond me. What I think happens is someone says it in some historic tasting and then wine professionals just keep perpetuating it as a fact for decades…Out of the CA ones…they’ve all been quite different and it shows that the Mission grape is capable of being made in a lot of different styles and it would suggest it picks up a lot of site specific characteristics.”
“Listán Prieto, which is known internationally as País, Mission, and Criolla, is not the most highly regarded of the Canary Islands’ red grapes. Though vigorous and drought tolerant, the wines tend to be low in both color and alcohol, with high, almost shrill acidity. Careful attention in the vineyard and cellar can result in some attractive, if simple, wines, and more and more quality producers are playing around with the variety.”
“When made as a dry table wine, Mission is very light-bodied, yet extremely tannic, often indistinguishable in color from a dark rosé, tasting of bitter orange peel and light red fruits, like rhubarb and strawberry.”
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Some Descriptions of Listán Prieto Wines
“Chilean producers are creating some País wines that are far from common, undistinguishable table wines. Oh sure, unexceptional País still exists, just like any other prolific variety out there. But there are also a lot of utterly delicious options available…Of course País cannot compete with the greats of Bordeaux, or the Super Tuscans and Napa’s finest. Apples to oranges. It can, however, be a fantastic option for those looking for more natural, low-alcohol, lip-smacking good wines. País is not pretentious, rather rustic and bursting with fruit. It’s fresh and far from mediocre when done right.”
“Chile has more país than any other country in the world—some 9,000 acres—the majority of which is planted in in the Maule, Bío-Bío and Itata regions. Here it has become the keystone grape of Chile’s growing natural wine movement—prized not only for its ability to produce excellent wines but for the age of the vines and the viticultural traditions they represent…These old-vine grapes can produce wines that range from dense and rich, if the grapes are left to fully ripen, to the juicy and ethereal wines made in the pipeño style. This method, in which the grapes are de-stemmed by rubbing the clusters over a reed mat, then foot-treaded and aged for a year in old barrels or concrete vats, is the way most país was historically made.”
“I’ve had pretty much all the Missions produced in CA (as well as quite a few Chilean Pais ones and Listen Prietos). And I’ve yet to find one I didn't like. And when I check [CellarTracker], I can’t find anyone below 88pts, so where this poor grape got its reputation for ‘not being suitable for winemaking’ is beyond me. What I think happens is someone says it in some historic tasting and then wine professionals just keep perpetuating it as a fact for decades…Out of the CA ones…they’ve all been quite different and it shows that the Mission grape is capable of being made in a lot of different styles and it would suggest it picks up a lot of site specific characteristics.”
“Listán Prieto, which is known internationally as País, Mission, and Criolla, is not the most highly regarded of the Canary Islands’ red grapes. Though vigorous and drought tolerant, the wines tend to be low in both color and alcohol, with high, almost shrill acidity. Careful attention in the vineyard and cellar can result in some attractive, if simple, wines, and more and more quality producers are playing around with the variety.”
“When made as a dry table wine, Mission is very light-bodied, yet extremely tannic, often indistinguishable in color from a dark rosé, tasting of bitter orange peel and light red fruits, like rhubarb and strawberry.”