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The Lanzarote winery El Grifo commissions the multidisciplinary artist Ildefonso Aguilar to create the image of the wine with which it commemorates its 250 birthday
The family Otamendi, owners of the Lanzarote winery The tap, one of the oldest in Spain, He has a special sensitivity for the arts. Attached to tradition and the most solid roots of the Island of Volcanoes, Juan José y Fermin, and the rest of the family The tap, They have always kept those signs of identity in mind, that date back to the moment in which he himself Cesar Manrique, who had a predilection for the Malvasía Seco from the winery, designed the identification label with the bird Tap.
Over time, his own Manrique, on its centenary, had his own wine, as the poet had it Jose Hierro and the Portuguese writer, Nobel Prize in Literature and adoption counselor, Jose Saramago. So, No one was surprised that the designer of the commemorative wine label of the 250 anniversary of the winery be the renowned island artist Ildefonso Aguilar.
From 1775, when the covered winepress was built, The tap has remained active uninterruptedly, demonstrating ultra-remarkable resilience. In 2025, the winery meets 250 years, being one of the ten oldest in Spain and Malvasía Lías 2018 It is the wine for such a unique celebration. “There was no doubt when choosing the grape. It had to be volcanic malvasia, majority variety and that unquestionably represents the idiosyncrasy of Lanzarote, both for its organoleptic qualities and for its adaptation to the extreme conditions of the island”, they point out from the cellar.
If someone closes their eyes and notices the freshness, the minerality and salinity of this particular wine, the vintage 2018, You will travel with your palate and senses to the heart of the island. You will perceive in your mouth and nose its magnetic territory and also the rich culture and wine tradition that its people have defended since 1775.
Complex wines
Over the years, The tap has remained true to a purpose: make complex wines that express the territory. Already in 2018 it was decided that Malvasía Lías 2018 It must have been the wine of 250 anniversary of the oldest winery in the Canary Islands and one of the ten oldest in Spain: “Yeah, because it is the winery's most awarded reference in national and international competitions, because whoever tries it remembers it eternally and because each drop means Lanzarote, the so-called vineyard of the impossible with its trade winds, the lack of rain and the impossibility of mechanization”.
Also because the anniversary wine had to be aged for at least five years.. But also, This special and commemorative edition becomes a work of art thanks to the collaboration with the most famous contemporary artist on the island: Ildefonso Aguilar.
In this way, Malvasía Lías 2018 connects with another fundamental pillar in these 250 years of rich history: the culture. Highlights the admiration that the owners have shown for their artists, creators, writers and intellectuals. From Cesar Manrique a Jose Saramago y Jose Hierro, and of course, con Ildefonso Aguilar. He was commissioned to create a work for the private collection of The tap, currently owned by brothers Juan José y Fermín Otamendi. The work titled under the volcano inspires the label 12.600 bottles.
Special connection with the landscape
It couldn't be another wine and it couldn't be another artist.. Why Ildefonso Aguilar, born in 1945, expresses its connection with the island's landscape in a unique way and manages to convey what it is like., its light and physical appearance, but also its sound, on temperature, its smell and each of those features that make it a lunar territory, almost from another planet. Ultimately, Aguilar also manages to convey what is not seen.
deeply sensitive, found on the canvas, but also in music and photography the means of expression of his restless mind. Closely linked professionally and personally with Cesar Manrique, Aguilar It has also always demonstrated a strong commitment to preserving the wealth of the island.
So, through its label and its essence, Malvasía Lías 2018 provides an immersion in the untamed nature of Lanzarote. The grape, volcanic malvasia, comes from several selected plots of Tinajo owned by four winegrowers. It is a wine for aging, and during 28 months the lees are kept in suspension using the battonage method. The tap has done it like this since 2010 given that this breeding exceptionally highlights the varietal characteristics. Like big anniversaries, how long they take to arrive, There is no rush to consume it since it maintains aging potential..
At sight it stands out for its straw yellow tone., with light golden tones. It's clean and bright. As for its aroma, It is of medium-high intensity typical of a wine in evolution. If you like fresh fruit, citrus (orange peel) y tropical (passion fruit, mango), also flowers (noon, jasmine, violet), fennel, and complex aromas such as flint or flint (match). The autolysis of the yeasts recalls aromas of bakery and yeast. Besides, aging in the bottle causes traces of dried fruits, honey and caramel.
Malvasía Lías 2018 captivates the palate due to its large volume -due to the mannoproteins of dead yeasts-. The passage in the mouth is long, unctuous and with very marked final acidity with citrus freshness, highlighting mineral and slightly saline notes. The ending is persistent.
It was bottled in 2021 to continue aging in the bottle. Hoy, years later, It is perfect to toast not only for the 250 years of history The tap but for everything that inspires joy and celebration.
