La Palma

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The Caldera de Taburiente is an immense erosion-formed depression enclosed by a cirque of summits 8 km in diameter, with the Roque de los Muchachos reaching an altitude of 2,426 m.
• The vineyard occupies a belt of varying width between 200 and 1,400 metres of altitude, on terraces built with dry-stone walls on steeply sloping hillsides.
• Annual rainfall on the island ranges from 350 litres per m² in the driest part of the coastal strip to the southwest to 1,000 litres per m² at higher elevations.
• The north-easterly trade winds affect the northern and eastern parts of the island, generating a sea of clouds that sits at lower elevations than elsewhere in the archipelago.
• The western side of the island, from Puntagorda to Fuencaliente, is sheltered from the trade winds, resulting in high levels of sunshine and evaporation in that area.

• The first vines were planted on La Palma in 1505, brought by the conquistadors and settlers, and from the sixteenth century onward Malvasía established itself at the leading European courts.
• Virtually the entire vineyard is planted on its own roots, as La Palma is free from phylloxera; a significant proportion of the vines are over 40 years old and, in the case of Malvasía, over 100 years old.

• The wines show a well-balanced palate, and those that have been aged in oak barrels display a bitter character.
• The tea wines from the northern zone have a resinous flavour derived from ageing in tea barrels (Canarian pine), with an actual alcoholic strength of between 11 and 14%.

• In the Hoyo de Mazo and Fuencaliente areas, the volcanic and picón (volcanic lapilli) soils cause the vines to spread low along the ground, reaching up to 36 metres; these soils also promote slow ripening and good drainage, yielding well-balanced flavours.
• In the Hoyo de Mazo and Fuencaliente areas, located to the east and southwest respectively, where soils consist of volcanic stones and picón, the distinctive character of the soil yields wines with a saline quality on the palate.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the specification (pliego de condiciones).

All appellations in Spain

Sources

• National pliego de condiciones (PDF)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-ES-A0510
• Official trade body site — Consejo Regulador D.O. Vinos La Palma