If you’ve ever wondered what a volcano tastes like, Miguel Ángel Millán reckons Tenerife’s vineyards provide a pretty good answer.
Millán, named World’s Best Sommelier in 2023 and currently working at Madrid restaurant EMi, led a packed Gran Cata de Vinos de Tenerife at San Sebastián Gastronomika.
The tasting was titled ¿A qué sabe un volcán? and featured six wines from six Tenerife wineries, chosen to demonstrate just how much variety can come from an island that is, after all, largely volcanic rock.
Millán was also recently named the ‘guardian of Tenerife’s wines’ at the Island Wines Summit in Puerto de la Cruz.
Six wines from across Tenerife
The tasting began with a white wine made from Listán Blanco, from Piedra Fluida Los Frontones in Granadilla de Abona.
Next came Los Loros Siete Lomas, produced by Juan Francisco Fariña Pérez in the Güímar Valley. This one brings together Marmajuelo, Listán Blanco, Gual and Vijariego Blanco.
The third white was Vidonia V.P. (Viñedos Propios) from Suertes de Marqués in the Valle de La Orotava, made entirely from Listán Blanco.
Then it was time for the reds.
Mountain Wines from Altos de Trevejos, made with Baboso Negro, was produced at an altitude of around 1,300 metres under the Abona designation.
The next was an Artífice from Borja Pérez, from the Ycoden Daute Isora designation, made with 90% Listán Negro, alongside Baboso Negro and Vijariego Negro.
The final wine was something rather different, a Humboldt sweet red from Bodegas Insulares de Tenerife, made with Listán Negro under the Tacoronte-Acentejo designation.
So, what does a volcano taste like?
According to Millán, it’s the combination of several things that gives Tenerife wines their distinctive character.
The subtropical climate, island conditions, winds, native grape varieties and pre-phylloxera vineyards all play a part.
It’s that combination that gives the wines what Millán describes as their mineral expression, something he believes cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
That’s quite a claim.
But when you’ve got six very different wines coming from different corners and altitudes of Tenerife, it does rather demonstrate just how varied the island’s wine production can be.
And perhaps the best way to understand it is to stop talking about volcanic soil for five minutes and pour yourself a glass.