The Heavy Metal Guitarist, the Organic Chemist & the Capitalist Machine
A boy who formed a heavy metal band at sixteen because music was pure and uncompromised, studied organic chemistry to understand wine through science, then rejected both — Diego Losada set up La Senda in a tiny space on the outskirts of Ponferrada and now makes some of the most revolutionary wines in Bierzo from 15 isolated parcels of 50-100+ year-old vines, with no pumps, no stainless steel, and the conviction that enological products are cogs in the capitalist machine.
Origin — The Guitar, the Laboratory, and the Mental Path
Diego Losada Álvarez was born and raised in Ponferrada, the largest town in the Bierzo valley, but spent much of his childhood in Madrid and Burgos. At sixteen, he formed a heavy metal band with his schoolmates. For Diego, music was pure and uncompromised — an honest and creative way to express himself and the frustrations he felt with mainstream society and the leash it places upon us. The aggression, the volume, and the refusal to conform would later find their mirror in wine.
He returned to Bierzo in his late teens and studied organic chemistry at university — approaching wine first through a scientific lens, analysing molecules and reactions, understanding the mechanics of fermentation. He worked at larger wineries in the region, learning the conventional trade, but the rigid nature of industrial viticulture grated against everything his music had taught him. Eventually, he turned to the open-ended and intuitive philosophy of natural winemaking, which was at odds with his training but aligned with his temperament.
In 2012, he set up Bodega La Senda in a tiny space on the outskirts of Ponferrada. La Senda means "the path" or "the way" — a reference to the Camino de Santiago, which passes through Bierzo, but for Diego it is "a more mental than physical path." He recuperated three small parcels, converted them to organic farming, and bottled his first wine with the 2013 vintage. The bodega was so small that his concrete vats had to be hand-poured and set in place — there was no large garage door to fit them through.
Today, Diego rents 15 parcels totalling just over 5 hectares, scattered across the valley and mountain slopes of Bierzo. He is a self-labelled "radical" and "anarchist" — not in the political sense, but in the creative sense. He is a pilgrim in search of the "Atlantic" in his wines: that freshness, that salinity, that lift that Bierzo's continental climate often cooks out of conventional bottlings. His hands, scarred and calloused from vineyard work, are the proof that he does not copy and paste the words of natural wine. He struggles. He feels his vineyards.
The Place — The Inland Sea, the Gold Mines & the Isolated Vines
Bierzo sits in the northwest corner of Castilla y León, hard against the border with Galicia, where the Cantabrian Mountains begin their rise toward the Atlantic. Millions of years ago, the valley was an inland sea, and the soils still carry that aquatic memory: layers of sediment, ancient seabed, and a scattering of minerals that reads like a miner's ledger. The region is known for Mencía, but Diego's Bierzo is not the soft, fruity Mencía of the textbooks. It is a Bierzo of slate, iron, gold, quartz, and brutal humidity.
15 Isolated Parcels, ~5 Hectares
Diego rents 15 small parcels dotted around the valley and mountain slopes, all relatively isolated from other vineyard land so that chemical treatments from neighbouring farms cannot taint his soils. The parcels are in and around Hervededo, Priaranza del Bierzo, and Santalla — on the eastern and southwestern edges of the appellation. He seeks out bush-trained vineyards that are not easily accessible by road, planted on either clay-calcareous or slate soils, since they are less likely to have been exposed to chemical treatments.
50 to 100+ Year-Old Vines
All parcels are old vines — minimum 50 to 60 years, many 70-90, some over 100. Bush-trained (en vaso), low-yielding, and difficult to work. Diego aggressively green-harvests to attain yields of just 1.5 kilograms per vine — versus the more typical 6 or 7 kilos in the region. The vines are co-planted with red and white varieties growing together in the same row: Mencía, Garnacha Tintorera, Doña Blanca, Palomino, Godello, Malvasía, and even Trousseau (Bastardo).
Clay, Slate, Quartz & Gold
The soils are incredibly diverse — a direct result of the valley's origins as an inland sea. Diego's plots represent different scatterings of minerals: clay or calcareous with slate, iron, gold, or quartz. The eastern vineyards around Hervededo have more clay-calcareous soils. The southwestern hills of Priaranza del Bierzo have clay over slate at higher elevation. La Barbacana sits on slate, iron, and quartz in front of a 13th-century castle, above an old Roman mine. Each parcel is a different mineral fingerprint.
Atlantic Humidity & Brutal Cold
The climate is a mix of continental and Atlantic influences — long, often brutally cold winters and a summer that is short and almost always too humid, with an average of 80-90% humidity. This is not the dry, sun-baked Spain of the south. It is a green, wet, challenging landscape where mildew is a constant threat and organic farming requires vigilance. The humidity, combined with the high mineral content of the soils, is what gives Diego's wines their signature freshness, salinity, and electric acidity.
Winemaking — Raising a Child, Not Building a Machine
Diego likens his winemaking to raising a child — one needs to allow freedom to develop and express personality, but a child is also vulnerable and needs protection and guidance. "In this way he approaches winemaking — opting to do as little as possible to interfere with the vines." He uses sulfur in the vineyard only when absolutely necessary, preferring to treat more gently with biodynamic preparations such as horsetail. In the cellar, he believes a wine needs time and space. He ages his wines in either cement or very old wood, believing wine needs to breathe as it develops.
He always does a very gentle maceration — usually just a few days of whole berries before pressing. He avoids pump-overs, and generally avoids batonnage (though El Aqueronte sees daily batonnage as an exception). He will never filter, fine, or add sulfur in the cellar — although global warming has forced him to add small doses of SO₂ to some wines starting with the 2022 vintage, a compromise he accepts with reluctance. "Enological products are cogs in the capitalist machine," he states flatly.
Diego works almost completely without modern equipment — no pumps, no stainless steel. He uses a mix of unlined concrete vats and older oak and chestnut casks & foudres, since he feels that these materials breathe, while stainless steel is an inert material that will "kill" the nature within the wine. The concrete vats had to be hand-poured because the bodega door was too small. Fermentations are always with indigenous yeasts. Co-fermentations of red and white grapes are the norm, not the exception — "to take a picture of the place, and put it into the bottle."
His approach is intuitive rather than formulaic. He does not follow recipes. He tastes, observes, protects, and lets go. "Too many people in natural winemaking copy and paste the words – they don't struggle, they don't feel their vineyards." Diego struggles. He feels. And it shows in the glass.
The Wines — Pictures of the Place, Bottled
Diego's range is small, focused, and constantly evolving. Each wine is a "picture of the place" — co-fermented, gently macerated, and raised in breathing vessels. Production is tiny: many cuvées number fewer than 1,000 bottles. The names reference Orwell, Iron Butterfly, and occult texts — Diego's creative mind at work.
Vindemiatrix
Entry red — HervededoThe gateway. 80% Mencía, 10% Palomino, 10% Doña Blanca from 7 old-vine co-planted parcels in the hills surrounding Hervededo, on the eastern side of Bierzo. Soils are mainly clay and limestone at around 550 metres. The grapes are partially destemmed, macerated for 4-5 days, then fermented and raised in unlined concrete tanks for 7 months. Bottled without fining or filtration, with only a small addition of SO₂. Refreshing, powerful, and mineral, with red fruit intensity and woven flavours of earth, smoke, and spice. The calling card — bright, easy-drinking, and unmistakably Atlantic.
1984
Single-vineyard red — Priaranza del BierzoNamed for Orwell's novel. Sourced from 3 old-vine Mencía vineyards in the hills of Priaranza del Bierzo, in the southwest part of the appellation. The vines are 70-90 years old, planted on clay soils over slate at 650 metres — some of the highest vineyards in Bierzo. Partially destemmed, macerated for 7-8 days in 3 large oak casks. The wine is then transferred to small barrels to finish primary and malolactic fermentation, then aged for 8 months. Bottled without fining, filtration, and no SO₂ addition. Crushed cherries, orange zest, lavender, and incense, with an iron-like structure and mouth-watering acidity. The most structured and age-worthy of the entry wines.
El Aqueronte
Single-vineyard red — SantallaFrom a single namesake vineyard of 60-90 year-old Mencía vines at 555 metres on clay-calcareous soils with slate and quartz. The vineyard runs along a river and is interplanted with a huge diversity of flora — a vibrant, untamed landscape. Hand-harvested: ⅓ whole cluster, ⅓ destemmed and crushed, ⅓ destemmed and crushed with stems included. Fermented with wild yeasts in chestnut vat for 5-7 days with daily battonage but no pumping over. The juice is taken off the skins before primary fermentation is finished, and the wine rests in chestnut vat for 10 months. Bottled without fining, filtration, or added SO₂. Only 683 bottles. The most aromatic of Diego's wines — a woven complexity of red fruits, florals, spice, and minerals. Supreme expression of Mencía and Bierzo terruño.
La Barbacana
Single-vineyard red — Western BierzoFrom a single namesake 100+ year-old vineyard planted on slate, iron, and quartz at 650 metres, situated in front of a 13th-century castle and above an old mine where the Romans excavated slate, iron, gold, and other minerals. On the western edge of Bierzo where the region intersects with Galicia. 90% Garnacha Tintorera and 10% Mencía. Fermented in chestnut vats with a short maceration and no pumping over. The juice is racked off before fermentation finishes, then aged 11 months in a 650-litre chestnut barrel. Bottled without fining, filtration, or added SO₂. Dark, savoury, and mineral — the iron and slate speak loudly. A wine of ancient earth and medieval stone.
In Absentia
Single-vineyard Trousseau — Bierzo100% Trousseau (Bastardo / Merenzao) from two plots of 80-95-year-old vines planted on clay-calcareous soils at 555 metres. Hand-harvested, partially destemmed, macerated on skins for 3-4 days, and fermented in open-top chestnut vats. Fermentation finished in used French oak barrels, and the wine rested there for 11 months before bottling. No fining, filtration, or sulfur addition. A rare variety in Bierzo — Trousseau brings a wild, herbaceous, almost Pinot-like perfume and a silken texture that sets it apart from the Mencía-based wines. One of Diego's most sought-after bottlings.
In A Gadda Da Vida
Skin-contact white — HervededoNamed for the Iron Butterfly song. An expression of 60-90 year-old Godello from small vineyard parcels situated amongst woods and wild nature around Hervededo, on the eastern side of Bierzo. Fermented in old open-top barrels with lengthy skin contact, then racked to neutral oak barrels for 8 months of élevage before being bottled without fining, filtration, or added SO₂. Textured, savoury, and deeply mineral — the skin contact gives it a tannic grip and an amber hue that belies the grape's usual freshness. A white wine with the structure of a red.
Kybalion
Skin-contact white — HervededoNamed for the occult text. Doña Blanca and Palomino from 60-90 year-old parcels around Hervededo, co-planted in the same vineyards as the Godello. Fermented in old open-top barrels with about one month of skin contact, then racked to neutral oak barrels for 8 months. Bottled without fining, filtration, or added SO₂. More aromatic and floral than In A Gadda Da Vida, with a haunting minerality from the clay-limestone soils. The Palomino brings a saline, almost fino-like edge; the Doña Blanca contributes body and white peach. A wine of mystery and depth.
Une Rose de Blancs
Rosé — HervededoDiego's first rosado — originally made by accident in 2019 when Godello and Palomino grapes intended for In A Gadda Da Vida went into casks formerly used for red wine. Since the wine was a success, he has replicated it. Partially destemmed Godello and Palomino macerate for a few days on their skins in used French oak barrels that formerly held the Mencía must for 1984. The wine ferments in the same barrels and rests there for 5 months before bottling. Without fining, filtration, or addition of SO₂. A rosé of unusual savoury depth — not a poolside pour, but a gastronomic pink with structure, smoke, and the ghost of Mencía from the barrel walls.
213
Single-vineyard Malvasía — Hervededo100% Malvasía from a single organically farmed 80-95 year-old vineyard named "El Cemetario" in the hills surrounding Hervededo at 550-600 metres. The soil is clay-calcareous with trace minerals of quartz, slate, and iron. Destemmed and skin-macerated, then fermented for 30 days in used chestnut barrels. The wine was then racked into used Slavonian oak barriques for malolactic fermentation and ageing on fine lees for 24 months. Bottled without fining or filtration, with only a small addition of SO₂ (about 20ppm total). Deep, complex, and almost red-wine-like in its texture — mature stone fruit, honey, nuts, and a saline, smoky finish that lasts for minutes. Diego's most profound white.
Legacy — The Path That Does Not End
Bodegas y Viñedos La Senda matters because Diego Losada is redefining Bierzo from the inside out — not by building a monumental bodega or chasing scores, but by working 15 tiny, isolated parcels with the patience of a pilgrim and the fury of a heavy metal guitarist. In a region where Mencía has become a commercial commodity, Diego has proven that the grape can be mineral, saline, and Atlantic — that it can express slate and quartz and the ghost of an inland sea. His wines show an incomparable purity of fruit, with an intensity and focus that evoke the high elevation and rugged countryside of this corner of Castilla y León.
His legacy is methodological. By eliminating pumps, stainless steel, batonnage, fining, filtration, and sulfur (with rare exceptions forced by climate), Diego has created a model of natural winemaking that is radically low-tech and radically high-quality. His bodega is so small that the concrete vats had to be hand-poured. His wines are so clean that they disprove the myth that natural wine must be flawed or unstable. The 213, aged 24 months on lees in Slavonian oak, is as stable and profound as any conventional white in Spain — and it was made without a single additive.
His legacy is also botanical and political. By co-fermenting Mencía with Palomino and Doña Blanca, by working with Trousseau and Garnacha Tintorera in a Mencía monoculture, by seeking out isolated parcels that other farmers have abandoned, Diego has preserved a genetic and agricultural diversity that the DO does not recognise and the market does not demand. He is not a preservationist in the nostalgic sense. He is a radical in the creative sense — someone who believes that the true expression of a place comes from letting it speak, not from forcing it to conform.
And his legacy is philosophical. La Senda — the path — is not a destination. It is a way of being. Diego's journey from heavy metal guitarist to organic chemist to natural winemaker is not a career trajectory. It is a rejection of every system that tried to contain him — the music industry, the wine industry, the capitalist machine. His quote — "Enological products are cogs in the capitalist machine" — is not a marketing line. It is the distillation of a life spent searching for purity in a world that rewards compromise.
From the tiny bodega with no garage door to the isolated vineyards above Roman gold mines, Diego Losada walks a path that is mental, not physical. It is a path of struggle, feeling, and absolute refusal to copy and paste. The wines are the proof. The hands are the evidence. And the path does not end.