2020 Alvar de Dios "Camino de los Arrieros", Arribes, Spain

ABOUT THE WINE

Camino de los Arrieros comes from Villadepera, in the Arribes region of western Spain near the Portuguese border. Rather than a single-variety wine, it is a traditional field blend from old, mixed plantings, centered on local red grapes including Juan García and Rufete alongside other indigenous varieties. The vines grow as bush vines on the area’s poor granite and sandy soils, conditions that naturally restrain vigor and contribute to the wine’s freshness and mineral character.

The name Camino de los Arrieros—roughly, “the muleteers’ road”—evokes the old routes once used to transport goods through this rugged border country. The wine similarly reflects the historic viticultural landscape of Arribes, where small parcels, mixed varieties, and old vines survived long after more commercially oriented regions moved toward standardized plantings.

De Dios farms with an emphasis on organic practices and minimal intervention, working the old vineyards by hand and seeking to preserve rather than reshape their traditional character. In the cellar, fermentation takes place with native yeasts, with a restrained approach to extraction and élevage designed to retain fragrance, acidity, and transparency. The result is less about power than movement and energy: juicy red fruit, savory herbs, delicate spice, and granite-driven freshness.

Serve slightly cool, around 55–60°F (13–16°C). Its bright acidity and modest tannins make it exceptionally food-friendly, particularly with charcuterie, grilled pork, roast chicken, mushrooms, lentils, grilled vegetables, rustic rice dishes, or semi-firm sheep’s-milk cheeses.

ABOUT THE PRODUCER

Alvar de Dios Hernández is part of a generation of Spanish growers bringing renewed attention to overlooked vineyards, indigenous varieties, and historically important winegrowing areas. Raised in El Pego in Toro, he established his own project with a small parcel inherited from his grandfather and gradually expanded beyond Toro into the dramatically different landscape of Arribes.

His work in Arribes is particularly compelling because the region retains a remarkable patrimony of old vineyards planted to numerous local varieties. Rather than imposing a uniform style on these sites, de Dios works to preserve their diversity and translate their individual character into the bottle. Organic farming, native fermentations, limited extraction, and a restrained use of sulfur and cellar intervention are central to this approach.

Across his wines, de Dios favors freshness, precision, and vineyard expression over concentration or overt oak influence. Camino de los Arrieros is a particularly clear expression of that philosophy: a wine rooted in old vines and an almost forgotten agricultural landscape, yet rendered with the brightness, purity, and effortless drinkability that define contemporary Spanish wine at its most exciting.