La Senda: Diego Losada's Path in Bierzo
6/1/20 -
La Senda means The Path. This has a lot of resonance in Bierzo, located along the Camino de Santiago, one of the most important paths of Christian pilgrimage in the world. The "Way of Saint James" (or, perhaps, the Ways of Saint James - there's more than one path...) deeply impacted the historical development of Northwest Spain, especially from Pamplona to Santiago de Compostela. Bierzo lies in the middle of that region, at the point of transition between León and Galicia. Technically part of León, Bierzo’s vinicultural identity is both Galician and Leónese.
The climate and geography of Bierzo are worth exploring a bit, as both are essential to the identity of these wines. Bierzo is the transitional area between the dry and hot Meseta Central at the center of Spain and the cooler, wetter, and greener lands of the mountainous Galician massif. This transition is visible in division of Bierzo in Alto Bierzo (the western mountains) and Bajo Bierzo (the eastern plains). In a sense, this is the place where the dry warmth of the Meseta Central and the cool humidity of the Galician massif meet. In the best vintages, this climactic collision can be felt in the wines: the warmth lends power and density, and the cool humidity supplies lift and delicate fruit.
The soils of Bierzo are rich in valuable ores and minerals: the region was a major source of silver, gold and iron in the Roman period and onwards. This wealth is itself a product of another collision: the meeting of the granitic Galician Massif and the calcareous Cantabrian mountains. This produced complex geological formations that are famously beautiful, but also leave their imprint in the mineral structure of the wines of region: some of Diego’s vineyards are on soils rich in iron or gold.
These two collisions, climactic and geological, create a wholly unique place for the growing of grapes and the making of wine. Indeed, I believe Diego Losada’s approach (perhaps his “path”) to making wine in Bierzo allows him to produce wines that embody what is fascinating about the region and express its complexity.
Diego Losada started La Senda in the early 2010s, bottling his first wine in the 2013 vintage from 3 parcels that he recuperated. Now, his work has grown to roughly 15 parcels throughout the Bierzo appellation. Since the beginning, the focus of the project has been on organics, low-intervention winemaking, and respect for the natural environment. His rented plots are remote, low-yielding, and feature old-vines of the region’s classic varieties: Mencía, Alicante Bouschet (or Garnacha Tintorera), Trousseau (or Bastardo), Palomino, and Doña Blanca. Further, his focus on careful but transparent winemaking processes in the cellar allows the drinker to taste the soils, climate, vintage character, and varietal identity in each wine. Diego ferments and ages all of the wines in concrete or neutral barrels and does not add sulfur or other additives.
In terms of vintage, 2018 is very exciting. After a few trying years, these wines are the product of an exceptional year for Bierzo. Diego explained that the year began with a cold, wet and snowy winter that ended in March and led into a warm and rainy spring (without any issues with frost or hail). Finally, summer was mild, with a balance of rain and sun and no severe heat: the grapes ripened very slowly. The beginning of harvest was delayed until September and did not conclude (in the latest ripening vineyard) until the third week of October.
Diego Losada’s wines this year are balanced, intense, and viscerally pleasurable. All of them are outstanding choices to drink this summer or to hold for the fall or longer. Bravo, Diego!
Thank you, Diego Losada, for information, photos, and beautiful wines. And thank you Liz Fayad and Jose Pastor for information and connecting me with Diego.
-Ben Fletcher
