La Perdida 
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One might call the wines of La Perdida “Island Wines.” The winemaker, Nacho Gonzalez, would definitely call them that. He will also venture to call himself “an island” for having some of the most progressive views on natural winemaking in all of Galicia. As far as we know, Nacho is a winemaker unlike any other in this region of the world. A biologist by training, he turned to winemaking when his grandmother bestowed upon him a vineyard site named “O Trancado.” Nacho brought it back to life from total neglect, through good farming practices and a desire to save the old vines rather than rip them up and replant. The vineyard now produces some of the most fascinating red wines in all of Spain, with Garnacha Tintorera no less, a grape not typically lauded by winemakers. It was his grandmother who told him the old vines were magnificent and should be cared for, and it was here in this moment that La Perdida was born.  

Nacho actively seeks out vineyards that are isolated and remote, hence the term “island wines.” Up the hillsides, away from other farms and down winding roads, he finds old abandoned vineyards and works to bring them back to health, following his grandmother’s advice. He currently works with six vineyard sites in what would be the DO of Valdeorras, totaling about 4 hectares of vines, and farms them organically with some biodynamic practices incorporated. He cites Bernardo Estevez as a friend, and recognizes that his journey in the world of wine is long and evolving. Nacho is a constant student of farming and meets regularly with winemaker-friends to discuss how to get the most out of their vineyards, all while respecting nature and the vine.

Valdeorras, despite being one of the oldest and most storied DOs in Galicia, has become a new destination for large wineries looking for flat land to commercially grow Godello. Nacho often feels at odds with the region, believing that they are ruining the land and its history of grape growing. He is opposed to their more industrialized farming practices, which is why his vineyards only seem to get further and further away from the center of the DO. Nacho works out of a tiny cellar in the town of Larouco that he rents from friends. He produces only about 300 cases annually, a number he is happy with, as it allows him to remain in touch with both his vineyards and his wines.

Nacho favors tinajas (Spanish tapered, clay amphora) and very old oak barrels for his aging vessels. He works with the highly regarded 5th generation La Mancha tinaja producer, Juan Padilla, who has a two year aging process for his clay vessels to make sure they intervene as little as possible (Padilla tinajas are also used at the venerable COS and Foradori estates in Italy). Nacho is very experimental in the winery, despite being steadfastly traditional in the vineyard; sulfur has never been used. He feels that Palomino and Garnacha Tintorera are important to the history of the region (most of these old vineyards were planted during Franco’s dictatorship with his mandate to only grow very high-yielding varieties for bulk export) and uses these grapes in the majority of his bottlings. In addition to these two grapes, he works with a very old vineyard of Godello that he skin-ferments in amphora, as well as small amounts of Mencía and the Catalan grape Sumoll. All of his vineyards are of mixed varietals, co-planted together, another tradition of the area he is keen to protect.
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The name La Perdida, translating to “The Lost,” is a well-chosen one. As the story goes, other farmers in the area walked by Nacho’s vineyards and could barely see the grape vines which were tucked away behind wild and wallowing grass that was growing up around them. The local farmers deemed the vineyard “perdida” and Nacho “a loco” for not using herbicides to control the unbridled growth in the vineyard. They viewed his work to be that of a crazy person, which only added to his “islandish” attitude.  
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Despite all of Nacho’s qualms with the changing landscape in Valdeorras and his renegade reputation in the area, he remains positive in his outlook on the future of Spanish wine. He is a regular fixture on the natural wine circuit of Europe and is content to stay outside the lines in Valdeorras. Nacho’s wines continue to improve each vintage, as he and his well-loved vines become wiser with age. Despite this, he says “I will remain an island.”

The Wines 


​A Chaira comes from old vineyards in Seadur (a neighboring village) that Nacho has been renting since 2013, with vines that yield very small amounts of concentrated fruit each year. The Doña Blanca and Colgadeira grapes are hand-harvested together and destemmed, followed by primary fermentation in open top 400 liter tinajas with wild yeasts and 5 days on skins, then pressed to rest in the same tinajas to rest for 5 months before bottling without fining, filtration or added SO2.
 
Malas Uvas is 100% Palomino from old vines throughout the vineyards that Nacho works in Valdeorras. These ancient, low-yielding Palomino vines are hand-harvested separately from the rest of the vines and destemmed, wild yeast fermented in used barrel with about one week of skin maceration, then raised over winter on the lees in amphora for 5 months and bottled without fining, filtration or added SO2. Nacho named this wine “Malas Uvas” (evil grapes) since Palomino is not permitted by the rules of the Valdeorras D.O.
 
O Pando is 100% Godello from a collection of adjacent parcels of old, low yielding vines in the Viña do O Pando vineyard. The grapes are hand-harvested and destemmed and ferment for about one week with their skins in used brrel before pressing into amphora to rest for 4 months. The finished wine is bottled without fining, filtration or added SO2.
 
O Pando Orange is a special, small production wine made from a selection of the Godello grapes used for O Pando that are left on the skins for a further 6 months in amphora without stirring, then bottled  without fining, filtration or added SO2.
 
Proscrito comes from various parcels of ancient, low yielding vines in Larouco that Nacho has been renting since 2014. Made mostly with Palomino and about 10% Garnacha Tintorera, the grapes are hand-harvested, destemmed, and coferment with the skins for 5 days in used barrel, then pressed to used barrels of Chestnut and French Oak to rest before being bottled without fining, filtration or added SO2.

 O Trancado comes from an old vineyard of the same name which Nacho inherited from his grandmother and recuperated. These ancient Garnacha Tintorera & Mencía vines yield less than 1kg of fruit per plant. The grapes are hand-harvested and destemmed, fermented with their skins in open-top plastic fermenters for about 20 days without temperature control. As fermentation proceeds, Nacho gradually removes the skins until just the must remains about half-way through. Fermentation completed, the wine is pressed to stainless steel tank to rest before being bottled without fining, filtration or added SO2.

A Mallada comes from three adjacent parcels of ancient, low-yielding vines on granitic soils near Seadur in Valdeorras. The grapes are hand-harvested and destemmed, fermented with their skins in open-top plastic fermenters for about 20 days without temperature control. As fermentation proceeds, Nacho gradually removes the skins until just the must remains about half-way through. Fermentation completed, the wine is pressed to old barrels of Chestnut and French Oak to rest before being bottled without fining, filtration or added SO2.

Meu is new wine made in tribute to Nacho’s close friends and collaborators (“Meu” means mine in Gallego). It is a field blend of red and white grapes from an ancient vineyard that Nacho is currently rehabilitating. The grapes are hand-harvested and destemmed, fermented with their skins in open-top plastic fermenters for about 20 days without temperature control. As fermentation proceeds, Nacho gradually removes the skins until just the must remains about half-way through. Fermentation completed, the wine is pressed to used barrels to rest before being bottled without fining, filtration or added SO2.

A Seara is Nacho's first wine from the Val do Bibei in Ribeira Sacra, an area that shares many traits with his home area of Larouco. This is a field blend of 60% red (Mouratón, Mencía, Garnacha Tintorera) and 40% white grapes (Godello, Palomino, Doña Blanca) harvested together and cofermented. Like his other red wines, the grapes are hand- harvested, de-stemmed, and fermented with their skins in open-top plastic fermenters for about 20 days without temperature control. As fermentation proceeds, Nacho gradually removes the skins until just the must remains about half-way through. Fermentation completed, the wine is pressed to used barrels to rest before being bottled without fining, filtration or added SO2.

O Poulo comes from an old vineyard on clay soils in Larouco that Nacho has been renting since 2014, with ancient, low-yielding vines. The vineyard (Viña do O Poulo) is on clay soils planted to Garnacha Tintorera with a little Palomino at the far end. The grapes are hand-harvested and destemmed, fermented with their skins in open-top plastic fermenters for about 20 days without temperature control. As fermentation proceeds, Nacho gradually removes the skins until just the must remains about half-way through. Fermentation completed, the wine is pressed to used barrels to rest before being bottled without fining, filtration or added SO2.


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Location

General Info

  • Founded: 2012
  • Region: Galicia
  • Appellation: Valdeorras
  • Village: Larouco
  • Elevation: ​500 meters
  • Climate: Atlantic
  • Soils: Granite, Clay 
  • Vineyard Land: 4 Ha
  • Farming: Organic
  • Grower: Nacho Gonzalez

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