Bodegas Leda Viñas Viejas

Spain

Ages of winemaking tradition

The location for this winery is the Duero Valley, one of Spain’s premier wine producing regions. A 19th century manor house serves as the winery on the main street of the town of Tudela de Duero. The association of the Mariano Garcia and Jose Masaveu Families brought this dream to fruition back in 1998. Leda wines enjoy the appellation of Castilla y Leon with location in Valladolid, a part of the Tudela de Duero Region. The name Leda derives from Greek tradition and honors Spartan King Tyndareus’s wife Leda, who was the daughter of the King of Aetolia.

The Leda concept is unique, and utilizes multi-terroir-sourcing rather than single terroir. Small plots of Tempranillo vines that average less than 2 1/2 acres each are utilized in making the Leda. Some of the vineyards are more than 100 years old and are planted in poor, deep soils and produce very light yields. These vines are constantly monitored and little intervention is given - their production uses only natural farming methods.

Only 6,600 cases of this wine are made annually, small by European production standards. Only Tempranillo, the quintessential Spanish grape, is used in the production of Leda wines. It is aged for 30 months in barrel.

Each and every wine selected for our six different Wine Clubs meets our strict guidelines for quality and rating criteria. Each wine is handcrafted by an authentic, small-production boutique winery with a compelling story to tell like the one above. Since our first Gold Wine Club shipment in 1992, we have added five more impressive Wine Clubs to choose from—each a showcase for highly-rated, sought-after wines you can enjoy as a Gold Medal, wine of the month club member.

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Eduardo Garcia - Winemaker

Eduardo Garcia studied in France (Lycee Agricole de Blanquefort and Faculte d'Oenologie) as well as in Spain (Escuela de la Vid and el Vino de Requena) and has worked in wineries in Bordeaux, Burgundy and California. He follows in the footsteps of his famous father, Mariano Garcia, who was winemaker at Vega Sicilia (Spain’s most famous winery) for more than 30 years.

In Spain, Eduardo has toiled at the Bodegas Aalto and Bodegas Mauro, two highly recognized wineries. He is considered an expert on the Tempranillo varietal, Spain’s premier grape.

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Ribera del Duero - Region

Located in the Ribera del Duero D.O., this region is situated on Spain’s extensive, elevated northern plateau. Wine production here traces its roots back to the Roman occupation some 2,000 years prior. Wines are almost exclusively red and here the great Tempranillo grape is dominant. Specific terroirs make Duero wines different from their neighbors in the Rioja, but both share the pleasures of intensity and long age.

The Duero Valley, formed during the Miocene period, has a flat, rocky, gently undulating terrain, ranging from 3,000 feet down to 2,500 above sea level. The Tempranillo grape is supreme here also, and produces spectacular fruit from older vines. Bodegas Leda has abundant older vines from mountainside slopes above the fields and terraces lining the Duero River on its southwesterly course. The soils tend to be warmer, a fact that makes ripening of the Tempranillo grape easier.