Lanzarote – Volcanic Vineyards - Part 1
My main reason for visiting Lanzarote was for a walking holiday, but obviously I could not go there without seeing a wine grower or two. We passed quite a few vineyards on our walk across the island, and I have to say that they are quite unlike any other vineyards that I have seen anywhere in the world. I wondered whether Lanzarote might follow the example of Santorini, with vines that look as though they have been woven into baskets, but no. They are usually protected from the often-strong winds by a semi-circular wall built from large chunks of volcanic lava and left to sprawl along the ground. As we were to discover, much depends on the depth of the lava and a third of the island is covered in dramatic black lava, the result of extensive volcanic eruptions in the 1730s. The other wonderful streak of originality in Lanzarote viticulture is that camels were used for carrying the grapes at harvest time until well into the last century. They had originally been brought to the island from Morocco which is only about 80 miles away. But these days the remaining camels serve as a tourist attraction. The nearest I came to a camel during my ten-day visit was the statue on the roundabout outside the village of Uga.
My first taste of Lanzarote wine was at the Bodega de Santiago, a cheerful restaurant near our hotel, where we drank a Malvasia Volcanica from Finca Stratus, whose cellars we subsequently passed on our walk. And each evening we drank yet another Malvasia Volcanica. It is the main grape variety of the island and is highly distinctive and quite unlike any other Malvasia scattered over southern Europe.
A friend and colleague had put me in touch with an Englishman, Oliver Horton, who runs a wine business on the island. So one afternoon we were guests for a visit to the vineyards on the northern part of the island, in an area known as Ye Lajares. First, we went to Bodega Olivina – named after a black stone that is found in the lava - which is the property of Jorge Rodriguez, with another Englishman, Dan, as our guide.
First, we looked at Jorge’s vineyards, a field of black lava, and vines, each with their own protective wall, with a density of about 200 to 300 vines per hectare. He has four plots, totalling 4.5 hectares. The northern part of the island is cooler than the main vineyard area of La Geria in the southern half of the island. There is no phylloxera on the island, though there was a scare on nearby Tenerife earlier this summer, but happily that has been contained. Everything has to be done by hand. Any form of mechanisation is simply impossible. And the harvest is the earliest in the northern hemisphere, usually beginning in early July, and finishing in mid-August for dessert wines. We saw vines that were already forming bunches in late March. Rabbits are a problem but otherwise the island is fairly disease free. Rainfall is minimal, an average of 150 mms. a year. This year however is an exception. There has been heavy winter rain, with the result that the hills were green rather than brown, and there were wildflowers in abundance. Some vineyards are irrigated, and the island depends upon desalinated water. They also need to protect the grapes from sunburn, so they are positioned below the canopy.
There are four white grape varieties, Malvasia Volcanica, Listan Bianco, which is the same of the Palomino of Jerez, Moscatel d’Alexandria and Viariego which is often simply referred to as Diego. And for red wine there is Listan Negro, and some small plantings of international varieties, Merlot, Shiraz and Grenache, and another peculiarly Spanish variety Tintilla.
Jorge has built a new winery where we tasted, equipped with the usual vats and barrels. He has only been making his own wine for three years but has been very much involved in the island’s wine industry for many more years.
2025 Respiro Rosado – 20.00€
Listan Negro, 12.5%. Direct pressing and no malo-lactic fermentation. Very pale pink. Quite a ripe nose with dry raspberry fruit, and a slightly amylic finish. I thought it needed a month or two more to settle down.
And by way of accompaniment, we were served tasty local goats cheese with some cactus jam. Cacti grow in abundance on the island and there is a wonderful cactus garden, with numerous different varieties of cactus at nearby Guatiza. And I wondered why we had not seen any goats on our walk, but they are kept in pens and not allowed to roam.
2025 Respiro Blanco – 20.00€
A pure Malvasia Volcanica with a classic white wine vinification. Bottled a couple of months after the harvest. It was dry and fresh with a slightly salty finish and is still quite young. Though generally Malvasia is best drunk relatively young.
2024 Danza Delias – 30.00€
From Malvasia Volcanica – 125 year old vines. On the lees for eight months, but no lees stirring. . This had much more depth of flavour than Respiro. A firm salty nose, with a more rounded palate. Partial malo-lactic fermentation, but no oak. Very good acidity and focus. A lovely glass of wine.
And then I asked what was in a glass demijohn in the corner of the cellar. It turned out to be an experimental orange wine, Diego fermented on its skins for a couple of weeks. It was very firm and salty - Diego is appreciated for its acidity – with a tannin finish.
Then we went to look at a second vineyard, lying at the foot of the volcano, la Corona, at 550 metres. In fact it was very close to our walking route of the previous week. Cacti are often planted as companion plants for vines, as they break up the rocks and there is also tabaiba, a variety of euphorbia which offer protection from the wind. Here irrigation pipes had been installed. The atmosphere can be quite humid, but less so in the summer, and there is some dew to help the vines. Cochineal was an important product of the island, but the cochineal beetle has been ravaged by another beetle. However, we did see some on some cactus and it was curious to find that when you squashed this very white beetle, your fingers were virtually dyed red.
Our tour of the north part of the island finished with a tasting and food pairing in the restaurant of Tacande in the pretty little town of Haria. The name Tacande means a land of volcanoes in the language of the indigenous people of the island, the Guanches, who were here before the Spanish arrived in 1401.
The estate of Bodega Valle de Malpaso D’Celso was set up by the father of the manager, Victor Betancourt, at Tacande.
2024 Celso Blanco
Malvasia Volcanica aged on the lees, but without any lees stirring and no oak. A little colour, firm and salty and quite intense. Benefits from the lees ageing. And that was accompanied by some fish croquettas with squid ink and a tiny empanada with slow cooked goat meat. And some smoked local cheese. I decided that I prefer my goat in cheese rather than meat form
2024 Celso Negro
Listan Negro with a little Syrah and Tintilla. Very deep young colour. A solid nose and palate. It seemed very tannic and oaky, but we were told that there was no oak. I was not convinced, especially as there was a touch of vanilla on the finish. It seemed very well-made, but did not excite as Malvasia Volcanica does. And with that we tried some Iberico pork, marinades in spices and some papas arrugadas, which is the national dish of Lanzerote, small earthy creamy potatoes simply cooked in water and salt.
Comments