Lanzarote - Volcanic Vineyards – Part III
Our final cellar visit on the island was with Amor Lopez at the appropriately named Bodega Erupción. Eliza had been working in quite a different field, namely biotechnology, in Madrid but came back to the island during lockdown and started working with her father, Marcial, in 2021. He had started their cellar in 1982. She is very proud that she is a fourth generation winemaker, a seventh generation grape farmer and the first woman in the family to work in a winery. You sense that she is gently changing some of her father’s practices. He used to use old chestnut barrels, whereas she is not keen on wood and uses it as little as possible. She has introduced temperature control and also increased the capacity of the winery. She favours making wines from specific plots and also likes lees ageing. They have a total of five hectares and do all the work themselves. 2024 was a very small crop, with 40% less than usual, because of the very low rainfall – just 70 mm. This winter of 2025/26 has been a real winter. Whereas in 2025 some vines did not grow as they were so stressed for lack of water.
2024 Erupción la Geria Malvasia Chinija salvaje meaning a wild little girl. 30€ The grapes were trodden by foot as recently as 2021.
Nine months on the lees. Firm and stony on both the nose and palate. Quite rounded with some firm salty notes. Nicely focussed. Good concentration because of the very small vintage. Malo done. Low intervention.
2022 Milagro de Magmasia - 35.00€
From the same vineyard as the first wine. Aged on lees, which are initially stirred and then left to settle without any further stirring. And bottled 3 years ago. No wood. Not filtered. Very intense. Very saline and volcanic and characterful . There is no doubt that the lees do add something, indeed quite a lot of depth and weight to the flavours and palate of Malvasia. I was thrilled to discover this wine in duty free at the airport!!
2022 Milagro de Magmasia Selección
Plot selection with three different grape varieties. 80% Malvasia Volcanica, and 10% each of the Diego and Moscatel de Alexandria. Co-fermented and aged for 34 months in tanks. A different vineyard from the previous wine, near El Grifo. There is only 30 centimetres of picon or volcanic ash and the pits are less than two metres wide. Malvasia is usually picked first, with Diego a month later. Some flor develops. There is a little colour, a hint of honey on the nose and a very intense dry salty palate, very firm with some weight and satisfying mouthfeel. Very original
2023 Malvasia
Still a vat sample and not filtered, so sliglhty cloudy. No temperature control for this. A little colour. Quite stony. Rounded fruit with firm acidity. A pure Malvasia from La Geria. Firm and focussed.
2022 Listan Negro, Luz de Obsidiana
Named after the volcanic stone, from her village,Tao, which is considered a good area for red wine. Whole bunches, so a carbonic maceration, a ma façon, or my way or style. Including the stems. Three week fermentation. 11 months in the tank. No oak. 3 years in bottle. Medium colour. Cool, fresh, firm and dry. A fresh finish. Listan Negro is only found in the Canary islands, but it may be related to the Mission grape of California.
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2024 Listan Negro.
Will be bottled soon. Medium colour. Quite fresh with firm fruit on the palate and a youthful tannic streak. I wondered how it would age. I thought well, but I really preferred the white wines of the island. Malvasia Volcanica has a lovely streak of originality, and simply tastes volcanic, especially when aged on the lees. It was undoubted the discovery of the week and I shall look forward to buying some from Oliver’s website.
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