El Hierro

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• Volcanic soils of alkaline olivine basalts, slightly weathered, with poor development, and lapilli that absorbs nocturnal moisture.
• The youngest volcanic island in the archipelago: estimated geological age of 1.2 million years.
• Trade winds and a sea of clouds spill over the summits (max. 1,520 m), generating a strong windward-leeward asymmetry: humid north, arid south.
• Vineyards between 50 and 1,000 m in altitude, on steep, poor, stony terrain, sometimes covered with lapilli (picón).

• Vine cultivation began around the 16th century; the varieties left by settlers have retained their original names owing to the island's isolation.
• Phylloxera never affected the island due to its volcanic soils, commercial remoteness, and the complete absence of introduced foreign varieties; Vijariego and Bermejuelo survive ungrafted.

• High alcohol content and elevated acidity are defining traits of the organoleptic profile, linked to the volcanic terroir.
• Native white varieties (Bermejuela, Vijariego) contribute the greatest character to the DO's white wines.

• Poor, loose soils with lapilli (picón) give rise to high alcohol content, elevated acidity, and a distinctive organoleptic character. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

Facts drawn from the cahier's terroir-link section (Lien au terroir) by automatic interpretation — see the the specification.

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-ES-A1250
• Official trade body site — D.O. El Hierro