Born in Allariz (Ourense, Galicia), Laura Lorenzo arrived in the Bibei valley in 2004. With their distinctive steep, dizzying slopes, the bank of the river on the Ribeira Sacra side (the other side belongs to Valdeorras) is one of the most remote, uninhabited corners of Galicia, where just a few vines were kept for self-consumption. Dominio do Bibei, where Laura learnt a lot about wine and worked as winemaker until 2012, was the first serious project in the area.
The strong bond she developed with the region led her to remain in the Bibei and to set up her own project. Daterra wines (which means “from the land”) are outside of the DO.
Wines are made at and old, charmingly restored winery in the centre of Manzaneda and where different types of vessels (oak vats, barrels, amphorae…) are squeezed together in a confined space.
In the 2019 vintage, production is set to reach 33,000 bottles. Grapes are sourced from 4.5Ha in different areas of the Manzaneda district (San Martiño, Soutipedre and Cesuris) plus another hectare across the river in Valdeorras destined to Casas de Enriba, a blend of Mencía and Godello that sells for around €14 in Spain. In 2015, most of Da Terra vineyards were severely hit by hail, so they bought grapes in Amandi and produced the red Portela da Vento. The brand is now established as an entry-level range and currently blends grapes from Amandi and Bibei. It includes a white, the flagship red (€14 in Spain, around 6,000 bottles) and a limited production rosé (under 1,000 bottles) made exclusively for US importer José Pastor.
The real core of Da Terra is in Manzaneda. Laura’s flagship white is Erea de Vila (€18 in Spain, around 1,300 bottles), a blend of Godello, Dona Blanca and other minor varieties like Colgadeira from all of their vineyards in this area. The destemmed grapes are fermented with skins in barrels and aged in wax-coated amphorae for 11 to 12 months. Also made with skin-contact, the Gavela range focuses on old vine Palomino. Grapes for Gavela da Vila (€16, 2.123 bottles in the 2017 vintage) are sourced from granite soils and fermented in chestnut casks whereas Gavela do Pobo (€15, 1,280 bottles in 2017) reflects the schist and slate soils of Soutipedre and is aged in amphorae.
Two to five reds are made depending on vintage conditions. The two central wines are Azos de Vila (€18, 4,500 bottles) and Azos do Pobo (€23, 1,296 bottles in 2017). The first one is a herbal, Atlantic-style red resulting from the blend of all their plots. It is 60% Mencía, Mouratón and Sousón plus 40% Alicante Bouschet, Gran Negro and other unknown varieties. Deeper and riper, grapes for Azos do Pobo are sourced from the schist slopes of Soutipedre. The rest are low-production reds —just a few hundred bottles aiming to reflect specific sites or varieties. This is the case of the two Azos de Paraxe de Val de Rodrigo made in 2017 (both around €22): a fresh, juicy Mencía and a dark Alicante Bouschet with animal flavours. In both cases grapes were sourced from Soutipedre.
There is a new range of wines called Camino de la Frontera. The name refers to the proximity with the Portuguese border as grapes are sourced from Fermoselle in Arribes (Castilla y León). She finds it easy to translate the character of varieties such as Juan García, which is also grown in Galicia under the name Mouratón. In fact, the Camino de la Frontera red (slightly over 3,000 bottles, €15) is a deep, earthy wine lacking the rusticity usually found in Arribes. In the 2018 vintage she bled the tanks of Camino de la Frontera to produce a rosé and there is also a sapid, mineral white (€13, 1,000 bottles) made with Malvasía (Dona Blanca in Galicia), Verdejo and Puesta en Cruz.
