{"title":"La Perdida","description":"\u003cp\u003eLa Perdida means “the lost” and there are perhaps a couple of reasons why the idiosyncratic man behind this winery chose that name. Maybe it's because many of the tiny plots he works on were long abandoned and covered with wild vegetation at times obscuring the vines themselves. Or perhaps it's a reference to the long lost winemaking traditions of his ancestral home, the Valdeorras DO in Galicia. Whatever the reason for the name, what we do know is that Nacho Gonzalez is making some of the finest, most interesting, ethereal and delicious wines We've recently tasted. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA biologist by training, Nacho 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 at that moment La Perdida was born. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNacho has applied this regenerative philosophy throughout his corner of the D.O. He actively seeks out vineyards that are isolated and remote, often up winding roads, preferably away from other vineyards and farms and always on the slope of a hill. He now works six vineyards sites all on the edge of the Valdeorras DO. 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 continue to get further and further away from the flat center of the DO. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhile he remains very traditional in his farming practices he is rather experimental, albeit in a very pre-industrialized way. In the winery, wine is produced and aged in either very old oak or Tinajas, the Spanish version of the traditional clay amphora that have been used throughout the Mediterranean since before the Romans. The Tinajas are produced by a fifth generation craftsperson that also supplies COS and Foradori. He skin ferements Godello and works with grapes not allowed in the DO. Elevage lasts as long as he sees fit and the wines are bottled only when he feels they are ready. Never fined or filtered and absolutely nothing is ever added or removed including sulphur. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt's hard to pin down what makes these wines so mesmerizing. They have a peculiar intensity while never seeming heavy or fruity. They are in some ways unfamiliar, coming from terroir that very few of us have experienced, and uniquely delicious in a deeply satisfying way that few wines can match. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDespite his renegade reputation in his home region, he manages to keep a positive attitude hoping that one day the DO moves in a direction he prefers but content to stay out of their way, doing things exactly as he wishes in his lost vineyards and off the beaten path winery. Nacho makes regular appearances at natural wine fairs throughout the world (when that was a thing). Always joy to run into, he is without ego, always has a big smile on his face, radiating with intellect and joy. Maybe this is their x-factor. He has somehow imbued these qualities into his wines; wines that are as eye-opening as they are a joy to drink.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[],"url":"https:\/\/sf.flatiron-wines.com\/collections\/la-perdida.oembed","provider":"Flatiron SF","version":"1.0","type":"link"}