Las Vidres 2020 White

Far from the spotlight and shaped by a dramatic landscape of canyons, terraced slopes and tiny villages along the Portuguese border, Arribes del Duero remains home to a wine heritage as diverse as it is unfamiliar to most consumers.

For decades, many vineyards in this northwestern corner of Zamora were abandoned as depopulation and the harsh realities of working such an isolated, ageing region took their toll. Yet it is precisely on this outer edge of the Duero that old vines, rare grape varieties and a way of understanding wine that is inseparable from the landscape itself have managed to survive.

Few producers have captured that authenticity as convincingly as Alvar de Dios. Quiet, understated and largely indifferent to trends, the grower from Zamora has built one of the most distinctive and coherent projects in northwest Spain in little more than a decade. Born into a family of growers in El Pego, on the southeastern edge of Toro, he trained alongside Fernando García and Dani Landi at Bodega Marañones in the years before Comando G emerged. From that formative period, Alvar retained a vineyard-centred philosophy rooted in respect for local varieties, artisan farming and the pursuit of finely formed, transparent wines.

His first wine, Aciano, came from three hectares of pre-phylloxera vines inherited from his grandfather and already offered a very different interpretation of Toro, far removed from the concentration and overripeness often associated with the region. Once the El Pego project was firmly established, Alvar turned his attention to Arribes, where he found a landscape closely aligned with his sensibility. Today, he works in Villadepera, the northernmost village in the appellation, restoring small old plots planted with local varieties and farmed organically.

Las Vidres 2020 comes from five plots of Doña Blanca planted at around 900 metres elevation on slate soils with southern exposure. In Arribes, where humidity can make the variety prone to rot, Alvar says that growers traditionally planted it on higher ground away from the river. Together, these tiny parcels amount to barely two hectares of old vines, a perfect reflection of the region’s fragmented yet resilient viticulture.

The 2020 vintage was particularly favourable for whites in the area, and the wine conveys a sense of balance and precision from the very first sip. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in used French oak barrels for a year before spending a further year in concrete, Las Vidres reveals lovely energy, combining tension, texture and depth with remarkable ease. In fact, it has the sort of effortless elegance some people seem naturally born with.

The nose moves between wild herbs, dried flowers and citrus peel, underpinned by a distinct mineral streak. On the palate, it is savoury and layered, with a broad texture that never loses its verticality, finishing long and expressive. A food-friendly white whose price perhaps makes it one to save for a special occasion, but one with excellent ageing potential in bottle.

13% avb.
2,193 bottles
€49
Score: 94