Most people wouldn’t think of the Costa del Sol as a first choice for wine tourism. If you’ve been there on holiday the chances are you drank the local beer (Cruzcampo or Alhambra), ordered the odd non-specific vino blanco, or celebrated with a bottle of sparkling cava. And while it’s true that high end restaurants in the region have as extensive a wine list as anywhere across Europe, we tend not to be that discerning about what to drink on a beach holiday in the sun. But from my experience of coastal Andalusia over the years there are two winery visits worth seeking out that are highly recommended, one inland from the resorts east of Malaga and the other near the beautiful city of Ronda in the hills to the west.
Bodegas Bentomiz
East of Malaga is the unique vineyard Bodegas Bentomiz. It is ideally situated half an hour's drive from the sea up a winding road off the A7 motorway. More importantly, it lies about 30km inland from Nerja, the most popular resort on this part of the coast. The vineyard is in a beautiful setting with amazing views across the valley and back towards the sea. A striking building clad in slate is the winery designed and built by André Both who, together with his partner Clara Verheij, have brought an ancient vineyard on the site back to life. They are a Dutch couple who moved to Andalucia in the 1990s, initially to work in the construction business and to set up a language school. But they became fascinated by the abandoned vineyard and grew determined to restore it and make it viable. Therefore, having gained knowhow from locals whose families had worked the land for years and after thoroughly researching the challenge of viticulture on such are unpromising site, they sold the language school in 2003 and set about the vineyard in earnest. By starting almost from scratch they were able to experiment and set their own rules. Typical of their desire to constantly innovate and improve is the fact that their wines were the first in Spain to use glass stoppers instead of cork. Their wine range is called 'Ariyanas', taking its name from the hamlet here back in Moorish times. It includes whites, a couple of reds and a rosé, but it is the sweet and honeyed white Ariyanas Naturalmente Dulce that will have you swooning in admiration. If you want to visit it is essential to book. There are 4 options: Tour & Tasting, Tasting & Lunch, Just Lunch, and Banquet. All the details are online. When we visited a couple of years ago for the 'full works' we had a comprehensive account of how the vineyard had been brought back to life, an explanation of the wine making process including tour of the production facility, an enjoyable guided tasting then followed by a beautifully presented 3 course lunch with paired wines cooked and served by the owner André. This remarkable but unassuming man has not only restored the vineyard and designed and built the winery but is a talented chef too! He works with renowned Spanish chef Juan Quintanilla from Michelin recommended restaurant Sollun in Nerja to create menus that perfectly complement his wines. And incidentally in a rather nice reciprocal gesture when you dine at Sollun the wine pairing with the dessert is Ariyanas Naturalmente Dulce.
We first came across this vineyard back in 2014 when staying in Ronda and we ordered a well-priced bottle of local red wine in a restaurant. It was Bodegas Morosanto Lunera 2010, a blend of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, barrel aged for 12 months. So impressed were we that we set out for the vineyard 10km outside town the next morning. We were not sure what we would find or what reception we might get by arriving unannounced but fortunately the owner Miguel Céspedes was more than happy to show us around. At the time he was something of a trailblazer in planting a vineyard in southern Spain with predominantly classic French grape varieties rather than indigenous vines. The success of this initiative had been clear to us already from the bottle of his prizewinning Lunera we had drunk the previous evening.
You can see from the website that Bodegas Morosanto is now much more geared up for wine tourism since we visited including the possibility now to prebook tours and tastings. Information here also shows how Miguel continues to pursue his policy of making wines from predominantly French varieties, including chardonnay and viognier for his white wines. Finally, although it is getting on for 10 years since we visited Bodegas Morosanto I can vouch for the continuing quality of the wines. Earlier this year we were back in Nerja in a small restaurant and I recognised the Morosanto label on a bottle on a display shelf. Without even asking the price I ordered it 'for old times sake'. The wine in question was 'El Been Puntito', a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Tempranillo and when we eventually got the bill it was very reasonably priced around the 15€ mark. Mind you, it's even better if you go and buy it direct from the vineyard. It's currently listed on the website at just 6.70€
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