History
Devotion to and respect for the land, commitment to nature and the embrace of tradition have guided the wine-growing career of Álvar de Dios Hernández since 2008, the year in which he took over his grandfather Donaciano's century-old vineyards on El Pego's quaternary sand deposits in the Toro Designation of Origin (Zamora).
This was the birthplace of Aciano, a red wine joined a year later by the Vagüera white taken from a historic vine in El Maderal (Zamora) on the El Rapadal estate, home to over 12 autochthonous white grape varieties. A year later, another white wine — marketed under the same name but produced from the malvasia variety grown on the Las Mansas estate — joined the stable.
In 2014, Álvar de Dios established his own winery and then, in 2015, expanded into a little-known wine-growing region with huge potential: Arribes del Duero. From tiny, centuries-old vines, many of them planted on terraces or river bluffs and rooted in soils rich in white slate and pyrite, come wines that capture the age-old taste and culture of the mysterious borderlands in Camino de los Arrieros, Las Vidres and Yavallo.
Philosophy
RESPECT. Our organic and biodynamic vineyard management techniques fully respect our local environment and contribute to the recovery and conservation of its autochthonous flora and fauna.
TRADITION. We follow closely in our ancestor's footsteps, upholding their devotion to their surroundings and their way of interpreting and preserving the habits and culture of the terroir.
TERROIR. One of our greatest aims is to produce wines that convey the peculiarities of the land on which they are grown — wines free of artifice, with all the strengths and weaknesses that this brings, that bear the traits of their origins.
LOCALE. Nowhere can be understood in isolation without its people. This project's dream is to create bonds with other artisans, micro-enterprises and neighbours to forge a local identity, to grow and to reverse rural depopulation.
LOCALE. Nowhere can be understood in isolation without its people. This project's dream is to create bonds with other artisans, micro-enterprises and neighbours to forge a local identity, to grow and to reverse rural depopulation.
Villages
Our work spans three villages which, although close to one another, belong to different districts of the province of Zamora.
El Pego
History
El Pego is the winery's birthplace, where the story began in 2008 when Álvar de Dios took over the family estate.
Although located within the Toro Designation of Origin, the wines grown in El Pego share little or nothing in common with others under the same label. It is the district's southernmost and highest village, located on high moorland almost 800 metres above sea level.
Territory
Unlike the rest of the region, and due to its distance from the River Douro, there is no clay in the local soil. Rather, it is made up of quaternary sand deposits poor in organic matter, the reason why El Pego has always been free of phylloxera. Below that layer of sand lies a sandstone bedrock with limestone veins that, despite the region's semi-arid climate, provide the sustenance the vines need to adapt and thrive.
SITUATION
The village produces two wines: Tio Uco and Aciano. The first is classified as a village wine grown on three vineyards that combine centuries-old and young vines. The second is a single-vineyard wine that aspires to capture the complexity of mature Tinta de Toro vines grown on sandy soil.
SITUATION
The village produces two wines: Tio Uco and Aciano. The first is classified as a village wine grown on three vineyards that combine centuries-old and young vines. The second is a single-vineyard wine that aspires to capture the complexity of mature Tinta de Toro vines grown on sandy soil.
El Maderal
History
The quest for a site to produce white wine culminated here after two years spent restoring a vineyard planted in 1920 and abandoned in 2003.
Territory
The soil is a mixture of red, iron-rich clay and limestone worked into river terraces. It is rich in organic matter and shaped by the locale's continental climate.
SITUATION
El Maderal is situated on the border between the provinces of Zamora and Salamanca. It once marked the boundary between the kingdoms of León and Castile. The village lies in the River Talanda valley, the source of which is nearby. It is noteworthy for its altitude, with the highest part of the village being located 1,000 metres above sea level.
El Maderal produces just one wine – Vagüera, grown on Doña Blanca white grape vines planted in 1920 on a north-facing vineyard surrounded by cork oak.
SITUATION
El Maderal is situated on the border between the provinces of Zamora and Salamanca. It once marked the boundary between the kingdoms of León and Castile. The village lies in the River Talanda valley, the source of which is nearby. It is noteworthy for its altitude, with the highest part of the village being located 1,000 metres above sea level.
El Maderal produces just one wine – Vagüera, grown on Doña Blanca white grape vines planted in 1920 on a north-facing vineyard surrounded by cork oak.
Villadepera
History
Villadepera straddles Zamora's provincial border. Its biodiversity is of such importance that a biosphere reserve under UNESCO designation has been created to protect it. In Roman times it was a major settlement, thriving after the discovery of metal ore nearby and the development of mines to extract it.
Territory
The village is located below a former tectonic fault created millions of years ago when the region was volcanic. One of the few remains of that activity is the local soil, characterised by different slates coloured by the minerals predominantly present in them.
SITUATION
It is the northernmost village in the Arribes del Duero Designation of Origin and is the gateway to the nature park of the same name. Situated at a higher altitude than most other local villages — 850 metres above sea level — Villadepera is noteworthy for the enormous diversity of its flora and fauna.
It produces three wines: a village wine created from a blend of 20 micro-vineyards planted on the land around the village, and two single-vineyard wines — Yavallo, grown on red slate, and Las Vidres, cultivated on grey/white slate.
SITUATION
It is the northernmost village in the Arribes del Duero Designation of Origin and is the gateway to the nature park of the same name. Situated at a higher altitude than most other local villages — 850 metres above sea level — Villadepera is noteworthy for the enormous diversity of its flora and fauna.
It produces three wines: a village wine created from a blend of 20 micro-vineyards planted on the land around the village, and two single-vineyard wines — Yavallo, grown on red slate, and Las Vidres, cultivated on grey/white slate.
The wine
Village wine
Tio uco
Village wine grown in El Pego. Blend of grapes from three vineyards, one hosting young 35-year-old vines and the other two home to vines aged 93 and 89 years old.
Seeking a return to the district’s traditional wine-making techniques, and rejecting the course that the Toro Designation of Origin has charted in recent years, it is fermented with the stems intact for 15 days in stainless-steel vats before being transferred to large wooden casks for 6–8 months.
Village wine
Camino de los arrieros
Village wine grown in Villadepera. Blend of grapes grown on various old vines producing local varieties like Trincadeira, Bastardo, Mandon, Mencia, Rufete, Gajo Arroba, Tinta Jeromo, Garnacha and Juan Garcia as well as several other lesser-known ones.
The stems are left intact and the wine is aged in barrels for 6–8 months.
The wine is neither filtered nor clarified.
Plot wine
Vagüera
Vineyard located in El Maderal, 950 metres above sea level and surrounded by an extensive cork oak forest that shields the vines from the sun.
Doña Blanca grape, planted in the 1920s. Direct-pressed. Barrel-fermented and aged at least 12 months in the same barrels.
Around 1,500 bottles per year.
The wine is neither filtered nor clarified.
Altitude: 950 m
Orientation: S > N
Plot wine
Yavallo
Stone-walled vineyard located in Villadepera on a sunny slope receiving morning sun. The soil contains red slate rich in iron. Autochthonous varieties, predominantly Bastardo (60%). The stems are left intact.
Aged for 12 months in 700-litre barrels followed by at least six months in clay amphora.
around 800 bottles per year
The wine is neither filtered nor clarified.
Altitude: 780m
Orientation: E > O
Plot wine
Las Vidres
Vineyard planted in Villadepera on a south-facing slope. It is the only vineyard in the village growing single-variety vines as it is not affected by the early-morning mists that rise from the River Douro, making it the location where the Doña Blanca grape grows best.
The soil contains white/grey slate rich in mica. Direct-pressed. Barrel-fermented and aged for at least 12 months.
Around 1,700 bottles per year.
The wine is neither filtered nor clarified.
Altitude: 790m
Orientation: N > S
Plot wine
Aciano
Vineyard of ungrafted vines planted in 1919 on the sandy soil of El Pego. 100% Tinta de Toro grape, albeit with many clones. The stems are left intact. Aged for 12 months in large casks and then for at least six months in concrete.
Production: around 6,000 bottles per year.
The wine is neither filtered nor clarified.
Altitude: 760m
Orientation: S > N
Vineyard of ungrafted vines planted in 1919 on the sandy soil of El Pego. 100% Tinta de Toro grape, albeit with many clones. The stems are left intact. Aged for 12 months in large casks and then for at least six months in concrete.
Production: around 6,000 bottles per year.
The wine is neither filtered nor clarified.
Altitude: 760m
Orientation: S > N
Vintages
2017: a triple concentration vintage — a very dry autumn and winter, a frosty spring and a very hot summer. Very small bunches and berries. Highly concentrated year.
2018: a fresh vintage — rain after harvesting, a very wet autumn, a snowy winter, a very wet spring and a cool summer. Productive year with large bunches and berries.
2019: a very hot year — an extremely dry winter, no rain between September and February and a warm dry spring followed by a hot dry summer in which the lack of moisture severely affected the vines.
2020: After the 2019 harvest, the rains began, rainy autumn, winter with snow and wet and warm spring, very mild summer with numerous storms. Very cold and rainy year, very problematic in the field but quality and quantity.