Lanzarote – Volcanic Vineyards – Part 2
The next day we spent the morning with Alessandra Cavallaro, who works with Oliver Horton. She took us to two wineries in the southern part of the island, in the area of la Geria, where most of the island’s vineyards and wineries are concentrated.
First stop was El Grifo, which is the largest winery of the island. And also one of the oldest, with the current owners the fifth generation of the family. The logo is a griffon, designed by Lanzarote’s most famous son, the architect and painter, Cesare Manrique. He was a family friend and also designed the striking logo of the denominación of the island. sorry, my attempt to photograph that on a bottle failed miserably.
First we admired some wonderfully venerable old vines, two hundred year Muscat vines in deep pits and propped up by planks. They had to dig deep through the picon or volcanic ash to find the soil. The closer the vineyards is to the eruption the deeper the pit. However, the average age of the vines on the island is about 50 years old. The first vines arrived from Tenerife and viticulture was really developed on Lanzerote after the eruptions of the 1730s. The first wines were fortified, but these days there is very little fortified wine. Otherwise the main crops were cereals and cacti. Density can vary between 200-300 vines up to 900 vines per hectares, but a greater density does not produce more wine, as water is the determining factor. 7000 kilos per hectares is allowed, but the average yield is a mere 1500 kilos.
El Grifo own 64 hectares and buy the production of another 143 small growers, which brings the total up to about 200 hectares, from all over the island, but three quarters in the region of la Geria. All the labour is manual. There are about 1900 hectares of vines in total on the island with nineteen bodegas.
The cellars at El Grifo have a capacity of one million litres, but in practice they only produce about 300,000 litres. We looked at the old cellars, built in 1924 which were used until new cellars were built in 1990. There were old tiled concrete vats and some venerable barrels.
Then we tasted with the winemaker, the cheerful Elisa Ludeña. She has studied on Lanzarote and in Rioja and had previously worked at Vega de Yuco. Initially we thought that we had time constraints, and were only going to taste a few wines, but then our next meeting was cancelled, and I kept saying, would it be possible to try…. ? ?? So we ended up by tasting just about everything El Grifo produce, which provided an excellent overview of the wines of Lanzarote.
Prices are those at the cellar door at El Grifo.
2022 Brut Nature, Malvasia, metodo classico – 24.00€
A minimum of two and a half years on the lees. Good mouse. A firm stony nose and palate. Very good acidity. No dosage. Quite severe and very refreshing.
2024 Experiencia de Vendemmia, Crianza en fudres. – 23.50€
A micro-vinification of Listan Blanco, or Palomino. Their first vintage of this variety as a single variety, producing just 3000 litres. Indigenous yeast. Fermented in stainless steel tank and the fermentation is finished in barrel and kept in wood for twelve months. No malo-lactic fermentation. 70 years old vines. A lot of Listan has been replaced by Malvasia, but they also want to keep the Listan.
Very dry and firm and stony. Tight knit and focussed. Very intriguing. Any oak was well integrated.
2024 Finca Roman Blanca, Tablero de Uga – from just one vineyard, and a particular area in the village Uga. 4000 bottles produced. Malvasia. Organic viticulture. Eliza described the vinification process as carbonic maceration meaning that the fermentation began within the grapes, and then they are pressed. So in reality an orange wine. The Malvasia tasted softer than the Listan with a little more tropical fruit, but none the less was quite firm and dry, with a good focus of acidity. 23.50€
2024 Experiencia de Vendemmia - 23.50€
A co-fermentation of 70% Malvasia and 30% Vijariego blanco, otherwise known simply as Diego. The two varieties ripen at the same time and were once co-planted together in the same vineyard. 8000 bottles. Aged in large barrels. The Diego gives acidity. The wine was firm and dry, but with more weight than the preceding Malvasia. Possibly more ageing potential and very good length on the finish.
2018 Lias Malvasia 26.80€
Lias means lees and this wine had spent 28 months on the lees, mainly in stainless steel but with 10% in barrel. Firm stony nose, but the lees add much more weight and depth and character. Very good mouthfeel.
They are also experimenting with amphora, since 2023 and have precisely three, in which they keep Malvasia, for one particular restaurant. And they are also considering huevos, or eggs. With one in place, and three on order.
2025 Orange Moscatel. – 31.00€
Two months in amphora, without the skins. No SO2. Very pale colour. Perfumed. Intense Muscat aromas on the nose, with quite a firm dry palate, with tight acidity. A combination of Muscat and minerals.
2024 Ariana
A blend of 70% Listan Negro and 30% Syrah. The fermentation begins in stainless steel tanks and then the wine is transferred to barriques for six months. Medium colour. Quite a firm dry nose, with some fresh red fruit on the palate. Mediumweight and a touch austere on the finish.
2015 Listan Negro Dulce, George Glas, liquoroso so fortified and aged in barrels - 43.30€
Pure Listan Negro 16%
A Scottish writer and seaman who spent time on the island, George Glas, enthused about Listan Negro in the 18th century, hence the name of the cuvée. An ageing amber colour. Lightly walnuty on the nose, and even more so on the palate. Lots of nuances and very good length. I wrote 'a grand finale' in my notes, but when I found that we could stay longer, we returned to Malvasia.
2022 Experiencia de Vendemmia, Malvasia de fuego. – 23.50€
Fermented in stainless steel and then aged for 12 months in four year old oak barrels.
Very characterful. Very volcanic. A little colour. No lees ageing. Very good texture and weight, and just a hint of oak.
2025 Malvasia Seco – 18.50€
Their entry level Malvasia. Fresh and light and pithy on the nose and palate. The grapes were particularly thick skinned in 2025, which added to the flavour. Malvasia Volcanica is different from the other Malvasia, with more acidity. It is a cross between the aromatic Malvasia from the Mediterranean – I was thinking of all the Malvasia I enjoyed in Croatia, and an indigenous variety called Marmajuelo, which is found on Tenerife and slightly resembles Sauvignon Blanc in taste.
2023 Malvasia Sobre Lias – 22.30€
Eight months on lees in stainless steel tanks and 10% in barrels. Blended just before bottling. Light nose. Firm and stony, with a firm focussed saline palate and very good acidity. Nicely characterful.
2023 Vijariego Sobre Lias – 24.60€
Fermented in stainless steel tanks. 12 months on the lees in 500 litres barrels with lees stirring. A little colour. Dry oak on both the nose and palate. Quite firm and structured and less aromatic than Malvasia. Very good acidity with a fresh finish.
2025 Pet Nat Ancestral – 24.70€
The fermentation is started in tank, and then bottled to continue fermenting, with the lees remaining in the bottle. A little colour. Soft bubbles, with soft fruit and a rounded palate.
2025 Listan Negro Rosado de Lagrima – 20.30€
Direct pressing. The juice is cooled before the fermentation begins. Quite a deep pink. Quite firm and dry on the nose with a firm salty finish and good acidity. A very distinctive rosado.
2021 Syrah, Reserva de familia – 39.00€
12 months in barrique. Syrah was introduced to the island in the 1990s, when people were looking for oak and colour. They have four hectares of Syrah, and Merlot arrived about the same time. The aroma was quite firm and peppery, repeating on the palate with some fresh peppery notes. A cooler style of Syrah, with a fresh finish and a note of salinity. But I couldn’t help thinking: why bother? when the white wines are so much more original.
2025 Semidulce – 18.50€
Semi sweet white wine seems to be quite a popular style on the island, but I have to say that this is the only one I tried. It had 24 gms/l of residual sugar. It was fermented in stainless steel and then the fermentation was stopped by chilling at the appropriate moment and the wine filtered. It was lightly honeyed, with balancing acidity and some elegance on the palate. But when would you drink it, though rumour has it that semidulce was Cesare Manrique’s favourite wine.
2015 Moscatel de Ana, liquoroso. - 51.90
From old vines and aged in barrel. Orange golden. Unctuously honeyed, with a firm bite on the finish. Quite delicious. And a lovely finale to a very comprehensive tasting.
A big thank you to Eliza for a splendid introduction to the variety of Lanzarote. Malvasia volcanica may be my new favourite grape variety but I also appreciate that Lanzarote has other flavours to offer.
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