Description
DaTerra Viticultores (Laura Lorenzo), Vino Tinto “Camino de la Frontera”
Ready for a virtual wine adventure? Because we’re going way off the beaten path and far into the backcountry of wine for today’s discovery—Specifically to “Arribes del Duero” a new Spanish DO that was, well, new to us, too. Named for the national park it shares space with, this is where rising star Laura Lorenzo discovered a small plot of 100- to 130-year-old vines planted on steep, granite slopes overlooking the canyons that surround the Duero river as it enters Portugal and becomes the Douro. Jagged rocks, wild shrubs, and gorges carved by the river and its tributaries are everywhere—imagine an Ennio Morricone score in the background—and the wine they produce is equally wild, intense, and deeply complex. Made naturally, without additions or “makeup” of any kind, this is our favorite new addition to the delicious contradiction club: effortlessly elegant and charmingly rustic. A true field blend, conjured from close to a dozen different grape varieties all planted together, this silky, savory, and spicy red gem refuses to be neatly categorized. It’s a sublime revelation, but only if you pop a cork, so don’t miss out!
The Douro River, a.k.a. Duero in Spain, is the largest river by volume and flow in the Iberian peninsula. And it is home to some of the most famous Iberian wine regions, too: Ribera del Duero, Rueda, and Toro in Spain, and then the historic vineyards of Douro in Portugal, where the famous houses of Porto have their vast grape-growing estates. But there’s a new kid on the block, namely the Arribes del Duero, which officially gained DO status in Spain in 2007. This small, ancient wine region is essentially a strip of land that hugs the Duero as it runs south/southwest and forms a significant chunk of the border between Spain and Portugal before turning west and heading to the Atlantic. It’s rugged, isolated, and relatively arid, which is why the wines have essentially been unheard of, even in other parts of Spain, for most of the modern era. But Laura Lorenzo and her source on the ground, Angel Mayor, are working hard to bring this region into the spotlight.
Laura has been singularly focused on farming grape vines and making wine since she was just 16 years old. After completing enology school and embarking on a handful of internships and winery jobs around the globe, she returned to Ribeira Sacra, her home, and landed a dream job at the helm of pioneering producer Dominio do Bibei. After a decade of crafting some of the most iconic wines of the emerging “Green Spain” movement in Galicia, she decided to go it alone and founded her own label, DaTerra Viticultores. Her initial focus was on her beloved Ribeira Sacra, but she soon branched out to nearby Valdeorras, and more recently she ventured south, some three hours down the road, and discovered the unharnessed potential of Arribes del Duero.
The grapes that make up the aptly named “Camino de la Frontera” (“border road”) come from a single parcel of vines that Angel Mayor farms at an elevation of 2,000 feet. The vines are between 100 and 130 years old, with the local rarity Juan García in the lead of a whole slew of other varieties, all interplanted together, that include Tinta Madrid (Tempranillo), Rufete, Mencía, Bastardo and several other obscurities. The vineyard is organically farmed, and everything is done by hand, a necessity on the steep, rocky slopes.
Laura’s philosophy of low-intervention winemaking allows for this exceptional combination of a special terroir and a distinctly unique blend of grapes speak entirely for itself. Half of the grape bunches are foot-trodden whole clusters, the other half is destemmed before the whole lot is fermented and aged in two large barrels: one 4,000-liter French oak cask and the other a 1,000 liter Chestnut foudre. The large barrels impart just the right amount of oxygen and spice to the raw, seductive power of the super old vine fruit. Serve cool, around 55-60 degrees, in a Burgundy stem after a brief decant and you’ll be rewarded with loads of red and black brambleberry, Morello cherry, wild strawberry, sagebrush, ruby red grapefruit pith, paprika, tobacco leaf, baking spice, and hints of meat and iodine. The body is medium, with a sappy, silky texture and well integrated tannins that lead to a long, granitic finish of wet rocks and mineral water. A classic Spanish lamb or beef stew, with plenty of smoked paprika, would be a fine pairing, or if you can find rabbit then you have a super traditional, and distinctly flavored meal with the perfect wine to match. Go ahead, it’s time for some at home adventures!
