Fourteen generations endorse the history of Pazo de La Cuesta, which dates back to 1608 and has just been recognized by the Instituto Padre Sarmiento de Estudios Gallegos, belonging to the Centro Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), as the oldest family winery in Galicia.
An extensive trajectory has allowed it to live times of great winemaking splendor, being one of the first wineries in northern Spain to market bottled wine and label it. Now, its current owner, Manuel Bellod Álvarez de Lorenzana, wishes to recognize all the efforts of his ancestors to keep alive the Galician wine history and has launched La Pastoriza and Batanero, two wines that pay tribute to the more than four centuries of winemaking activity at Pazo de La Cuesta.
“When, four years ago, I decided to embark on the project of recovering this winery, which has belonged to my family since its foundation more than 400 years ago, it was clear to me that, at some point, we would make two wines in tribute to my ancestors. In this case, they bear the name of my great-great-grandparents: Don Manuel Batanero de Montenegro and Doña Pastoriza Flórez de Losada y Quiroga, who in the mid-19th century decided to modernize the winemaking work at the pazo and imported from France, for example, the Garnacha tintorera whose pre-phylloxera vines date from 1860, or bottled and labeled the wines instead of selling them in bulk. All this shows is the entrepreneurial mind they already had at that time. They were true entrepreneurs,” said Manuel Bellod Álvarez de Lorenzana.
These two new references continue the Garnacha Tintorera from pre-phylloxera vines that was released in February of this year and is giving them so much joy. It is a limited edition of 1,400 numbered bottles and represents the continuity of the history and value of the current owner’s great-great-grandfather.
LA PASTORIZA AND BATANERO
La Pastoriza 2022 is a white wine made mainly with Godello from 40-year-old vines, arranged on a trellis. The blend is completed with a small amount of albariño and treixadura. It is aged in French oak foudres on fine lees for eight months. It has a limited production of 1,987 bottles, all of them numbered.
Batanero 2022 is a red wine made mainly with mencía grapes from 40-year-old vines arranged on trellises. It is completed with a subtle touch of merenzao and sousón. The wine was aged in French oak vats. It has a limited production of 2,046 numbered bottles.
PAZO DE LA CUESTA: THE OLDEST FAMILY-OWNED WINERY IN GALICIA
Since 2020, Pazo de La Cuesta, located in San Clodio (Ribas de Sil), has been immersed in a renovation and recovery project of its historic vineyard and the restoration of the primitive 16th-century winery. The oldest family winery in Galicia has belonged to the same family since its foundation and it has been Manuel Bellod Álvarez de Lorenzana, who is part of the fourteenth generation, the one in charge of starting this initiative assuming the commitment to return the prestige of yesteryear to the pazo, its vineyard and its wines.
Recently, the Padre Sarmiento Institute of Galician Studies, belonging to the Higher Center for Scientific Research (CSIC), has conducted an in-depth study of numerous historical documents housed in 48 large boxes of the Pazo de La Cuesta.
This research has revealed that wine has been produced on the property since at least 1608, making it the oldest family winery in Galicia and one of the longest-lived in Spain, after 14 generations of continuous winemaking activity.
