Los Bermejos, Rosado 2023

Owned and run by winemaker Ignacio Valdera, Bermejos is on the easternmost island of Lanzarote. Only 125km from the African coast, conditions here are extreme. A volcanic explosion that lasted from 1730-1736 covered the entire island in lava and ash 3-5 meters deep. Consequently, each vine must be planted in a hole or hoyo that breaks through that infertile volcanic crust of petrified lava to the organic matter that can nourish it. The wind, which acts as a natural fungicide, is so ferocious that each hoyo is surrounded by rock walls for protection

Black volcanic soil gives a type of expression one might sense with smoke and tangy fruit. Succulent and strawberry infested; herbs, orange oil, mint and rock. Fleshy, enveloping mouth, with an initial sweet note that marries with an elegant final bitterness.