Diego Losado Bodegas La Senda 1984

Winemaker: Diego Losada

Region: Priaranza del Bierzo, Bierzo, Spain

Grape Varietals: Mencía

Sourced from 3 old-vine vineyards in the hills of Priaranza del Bierzo, in the southwest part of the appellation. This is where Mencía thrives and at its most expressive. The vines are 70-90 years old and planted on clay soils incorporated with slate and trace minerals at 650 meters elevation, some of the highest vineyards in Bierzo. The grapes are partially destemmed, macerated for 7-8 days in 3 large oak casks. The wine is then transferred to small barrels to finish primary and malolactic fermentation, then aged for 8 months. The finished wine is bottled without fining, filtration and only minimal SO2 addition. This is fresh and engaging Bierzo, showing crushed cherries, orange zest, lavender, and incense, with an iron-like structure and mouthwatering acidity. Pair this vibrant and complex red with anything char-grilled over wood fire or roasted on a spit.

Occasionally a winegrower emerges who redefines an appellation in order to show its true potential. In our opinion, Diego Losada has done just this in Bierzo. In a relatively short time, this young man has built a small bodega, gained an extraordinary understanding of his vineyards, and is employing a non-interventionist approach to both. His resultant wines show an incomparable purity of fruit, with an intensity and focus that evoke the high elevation and rugged countryside of this region.
 
D.O. Bierzo, located in the northwest province of León, is known for its Mencía-based wines with plenty of fruit and spice character, as well as an important stop for travelers who walk the Camino de Santiago. Here the travel-weary pilgrim will find hearty Castellana food and much-needed repose before crossing the Cantabrian Mountains into Galicia toward the North Atlantic coast. Diego is in many ways a fellow pilgrim, in search of the “Atlantic” in his wines, and even named his project La Senda, which translates to “the path” or “the way” in Spanish, although Diego says that this is “a more mental than physical path.”

-José Pastor