Producer Profile
Bodega Lava
Gran Canaria, Spain

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Bodega Lava

Santa Brígida, Gran Canaria, Spain

Three siblings on a quest to bottle an island’s soul

Siblings Mari Carmen, Guillermo and Juan Manuel Martín Monzón started Bodega Lava in 2012 and quickly gained an expert following that rates their wines among the best in Spain. Their small project uniquely captures the elegance and complexity of the terroirs around the villages of Santa Brígida and San Mateo.

Location: Santa Brígida, Gran Canaria, Spain

Working with us since: 2020

Viticultural Standards: Organic (non-certified)

Interesting fact: The 2017 vintage of Lava Tinto was voted as one of the five best Spanish wines in 2018 by Ferrán Centelles, former head sommelier at El Bulli. He highlighted the wine’s distinctive freshness and unmistakable volcanic identity, expressed by the mineral aromas.

Bodega Lava’s wine

Bodega Lava Santa Brígida, Gran Canaria, Spain

Bodega Lava is the brainchild of siblings Mari Carmen, Guillermo and Juan Manuel Martín Monzón. The two brothers both studied oenology and viticulture and have worked for other producers for the past 20 years. In 2012 they decided to start a family project, together with their sister. Bodega Lava was thus born, named after the volcanic soils of the Canary Islands. Along with the weather, orography and local varieties, the unique lava soils shape the outstanding terroir on which the Martín Monzón siblings work.

Vineyards at Bodega Lava Santa Brígida, Gran Canaria, Spain
Their small cellar is located in Santa Brígida, a village on north-eastern Gran Canaria, where they farm two outstanding vineyards, at an altitude of 700 to 1000 metres, planted with Verijadiego Negro, Listán Negro, Tintilla, Listán Negro, Baboso Negro y Moscatel de Alejandría.

In addition to the fruit from the vineyards they farm themselves, they also buy fruit from growers from what they consider to be another iconic area: San Mateo. They’ve established longstanding relationships with holders of exquisite plots, at 1100 m above sea level, with old Listán Negro vines planted on ‘picón’, a very particular soil made up of volcanic ash.

Having released their first wines in 2013 they quickly gained a faithful following and international recognition, with their very limited bottlings quickly selling out. They produce just 4000 bottles per year – mostly of them of their flagship red, alongside very limited editions from special vineyards. They are slowly but surely consolidating their production and reputation, with a range that is now considered one of the best wines Gran Canaria can produce, in a pure and elegant style.