Case of Camino de los Arrieros 2021 | $45.00 per bottle

Álvar de Dios Camino de los Arrieros 2021 | 11-Grape Symphony

Producer: Álvar de Dios Hernández
Region: Villadepera, Arribes del Duero, Zamora, Castilla y León, Spain Classification: Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León 
Grape Variety: Juan García, Rufete, Bastardo (Trousseau), Trincadeira Preta, Mencía, Mandon, Gajo Arroba, and co-planted white varieties — field blend, proportions vary by vintage
Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic, indigenous yeasts, whole bunch, unfined and unfiltered ABV: 11.5%

The Vibe The name refers to an ancient transhumance route — camino de los arrieros — the mule drivers' path connecting the villages of Arribes del Duero across the Spanish-Portuguese border. Villadepera sits at 750 metres on volcanic soils, and the biodiversity here is so significant the village is protected by UNESCO. This is where Álvar de Dios sources the fruit for one of the most unusual pale reds in the Cosecha portfolio: eleven grape varieties co-planted in the same field, harvested together, vinified together, and bottled at 11.5% without fining or filtering. The 2021 is the most floral and fine-boned vintage of this wine to date — a cool, rainy year that delivered exactly what old vines on volcanic granite at altitude always promise and rarely deliver this cleanly.

The Taste Highly expressive on the nose — floral, herbal, and wild berry aromas coexisting with a fragrant, perfumed quality unusual in any red wine at this price. On the palate: medium-bodied, fine tannins, great balance and freshness. Red cherries, orange peel, strawberry sweets with lactic touches, fresh pepper, scrubland and eucalyptus — an airy character and fine tannicity from whole-bunch harvesting at exactly the right moment. At 11.5% this is structurally a red wine that drinks like a serious rosé and ages like neither. The 2021 leans more Burgundian than previous vintages — less density than 2020, more precision, more lift.

The Story Álvar de Dios grew up among his grandfather's old vineyards in El Pego and spent formative years in the Sierra de Gredos working with Fernando García and Daniel Landi, where the Burgundian revolution in Spanish natural wine was taking shape. He founded his own winery in 2014, purchasing old vineyards in Arribes del Duero — granite-sand soils reminiscent of the Gredos, but with a cast of indigenous varieties capable of expressing a completely different kind of elegance. Camino is assembled from 36 separate parcels totalling 5 hectares in and around Villadepera — each plot co-planted with a different mix of the same local varieties, foot-trodden, whole-bunch fermented with indigenous yeasts, and aged 6–8 months in 228-litre oak barrels. The classification is Vino de la Tierra — not because the wine lacks appellation quality, but because the blend and philosophy defy any single DO's rulebook.

Best Enjoyed With Serve slightly chilled at 13–14°C. Grilled lamb, roast pork, charcuterie, mushroom dishes, or soft Spanish cheese. At 11.5% alcohol it is the most mid-week friendly red in the portfolio — and at $45 per bottle, the most obvious reorder.

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