With an annual production of around 200,000 bottles, Llanovid is La Palma's largest cooperative. Founded in Fuencaliente in 1945, it did not hold its first harvest until 1947. Following the eruption of the Teneguía volcano in 1971, the company adopted the volcano's name as its main brand.
Grapes are sourced from 220 hectares of vineyards tended by around 285 growers across the island’s three main grape-growing areas: Norte (north), Hoyo de Mazo in the east and Fuencaliente in the west and south. Land ownership is highly fragmented, with more than 2,500 micro-plots averaging less than 2,000 m2 in total.
The Teneguía range starts with entry-level white, red and rosé wines made from local varieties, with Listán Blanco from low-elevation vineyards accounting for most of the white. It also includes two premium whites. La Gota is made from Listán Blanco grown at a high elevation, along with Albillo, Vijariego and Negramoll vinified as a blanc de noirs. Caleta is a blend of grapes from several sites and villages closely associated with specific varieties: old vine Malvasía from Llanos Negros, Listán Blanco from Mazo, Vijariego from Las Manchas, and Albillo from El Paso.
Particularly noteworthy is the range of Teneguía Malvasía wines from Fuencaliente. There is a dry version, while the other two are late-harvest, naturally sweet wines with no added alcohol, made in both young and oak-aged versions.
The range most likely to appeal to wine lovers is Llanos Negros. Grapes are sourced from the site of the same name, on the slopes of the San Antonio volcano in Fuencaliente, which Llanovid regards as its grand cru. The south-west facing vineyards lie between 300 and 400 metres elevation, on a 10% slope, in an area largely sheltered from the wind. They cover 11 hectares spread over 74 plots owned by more than 70 winegrowers. The soils are covered with volcanic ash and water is scarce, meaning that vines trained using traditional methods can occupy 10 to 15 m². New plantings use the margullo technique, which involves burying an arm of the adjacent vine in the soil to create a new plant.
These wines stand out for their warm character, sulphurous notes and markedly saline finish. The acidity can be surprisingly vibrant for an area with so much sunshine and none of the characteristic trade winds.
The range includes La Time, a 100% Listán Blanco macerated with its skins and fermented and aged in concrete tanks; Los Tabaqueros, a blend of Sabro, Malvasía, Vijariego and Listán Blanco fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks, which has evolved into a multi-vintage white blend —its 2023 was the last to carry a single vintage; La Tablada, made from Gual and Sabro, with some skin maceration, fermentation in stainless steel and finished in barrels; and the ultra-saline La Batista, made in the same way but without the initial skin maceration. There is also Los Grillos, a 100% Negramoll red that is not made every vintage because of the variety’s irregular budding; and a naturally sweet Malvasía made from the oldest vines in the area and aged in 500-litre oak barrels for 12 months.
The only wine that does not come from Llanos Negros is Mission's Grapes. This Listán Negro is sourced from Rayo, one of the highest plots on the island at 1,400 m elevation, in Puntagorda. Sitting above the sea of clouds, it receives stronger sunlight and ripens earlier than the vineyards in the south. The resulting wine is light-to-medium bodied and fresh, with appealing herbal notes.
The entire Llanos Negros range comprises around 15,000 bottles, priced from €16 to €38.