Málaga’s First Organic Vineyard
Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe’s vineyard at Ronda is justly famous. However, it was not the first in the area, or the only one. There are several micro wineries in the Sierra de Ronda, one of the most interesting of which is a German-run project.
The Schatz family has been making wine in Württemberg since 1641, and in 1982 Friedrich Schatz bought a small country property near Ronda and started experimenting with different grape varieties. Many of these, such as Trollinger, Spätburgunder, Lemberger and Muskattrollinger had never been tried in Spain before, but together with Riesling, Chardonnay, Tempranillo, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon, now form the basis of Schatz’s production.
The cultivation is totally organic, with crops such as beans, clover and peas being grown and later ploughed into the earth to fertilise the vines. Natural means are used to prevent disease, garlic extract, alcohol, yeasts and fennel oil being among the products. Harvesting is by hand, and small boxes are used for immediate transport to the pressroom so as to avoid the breaking of the grapes’ skins by undue pressure.
All this sounds like a lot of work –and indeed it is – but then the vineyard is only 3 hectares in size, probably the most micro of micro wineries in the country. Nevertheless, and in spite of keeping yields deliberately low so as to improve quality, Schatz still managed to produce 15,000 bottles of wine last year. 70% of this was red, 25% white and the rest rosado, and – yes, you’ve guessed it – demand far outstrips supply.
Which is hardly surprising, as the wine is extraordinarily good. People who maintain that organic wine tastes no better or worse than non-organic wine have almost certainly never tried a one-to-one tasting, where the same grape and the same vintage from the same area are all compared. Although this is the only organic winery in Málaga Province, it will certainly not be the last, so fast is the market expanding throughout Europe.
You may find some of Schatz’s wines in specialist wine shops, but the only certain way is to visit the finca. One can do a lot worse than visit the winery in the morning and then take lunch in Ronda at Tragabuches (Málaga Province’s only one-fork Michelin restaurant), where the wines are featured.
Schatz wines have a simple pricing formula: all cost the same!
