Viñedo Dehesa del Zarco: Reviving a winemaking tradition in Pilas, Sevilla
Este vino contiene:
12 meses de trabajo
365 días de sueños
4000 horas de sol
Vendimia de la luz de la luna
1 kilo de uvas de Doñana *
The town of Pilas in the Aljarafe region west of Seville used to be an important centre of viticulture, with over 40 bodegas in the 1950s and 1960s.
In the decades since, old vines have been pulled up, the bodegas have closed and more profitable crops planted. A major part of the local economy is now based on the cultivation and processing of Gordal and Manzanilla table olives.
Yet thanks to the vision and commitment of viñateros like Juan Diego Moreno, Pilas is recovering a part of its winemaking heritage.
Last month I visited Juandi’s Dehesa del Zarco bodega, a project initiated by his family in 2008. Located just inside the Doñana biosphere reserve with its fragile wetland ecosystem, the bodega is committed to organic, regenerative agriculture in a zone where industrial strawberry production and over-extraction of ground water has caused significant ecological damage.
A range of different white and red wine grapes have been planted, including the local Mantúa Pilas and Garrido Fino varieties.
Juandi’s family have also introduced an endangered sheep breed, the Churra Lebrijana, to help fertilise the vineyard and control the risk of fires.
The 2021 Zarco tinto roble (13.5%) is the only wine available right now, but blanco and rosado wines are going to be launched this year.
The grapes were manually harvested at night and then fermented in stainless steel tanks with ambient yeasts. It’s a blend of all the red varieties grown on the finca: Cabernet Franc, Monastrell, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Tintilla de Rota and Garnacha. After 12 months of ageing in used oak, it was bottled without filtration or clarification.
It’s a fresh, medium-bodied cuvée, slightly cloudy with a medium purple colour. On the palate it was round and juicy with savoury fruit and a bit of tannic grip.
We drank the wine in the bodega’s smart tasting room kitted out with locally-made furniture, snacking on local cheeses and olives as we watched a pair of red kites (milano real) swooping over the vineyard.
The Zarco roble 2021 is priced at €13,90 and can be purchased directly from Dehesa del Zarco (contact them on WhatsApp and Instagram), or from the DELATIERRAwine shop.
*This wine contains: 12 months of work, 365 days of dreaming, 4000 hours of sunshine, a harvest by the light of the moon, 1 kilo of grapes from Doñana.