Barranco Oscuro

Barranco Oscuro, the Valenzuela family’s winery, lies nestled in the Sierra de la Contraviesa in the Alpujarras of Andalusia, perched at an altitude of over 1,000 meters above the nearby sea. The region remains remote, wild, and desert-like to this day—one of the reasons why Sergio Leone chose a nearby location (in the Desierto de Tabernas) to film the showdown for his spaghetti western classic Once Upon a Time in the West.

Much like Leone’s fictional train station Sweetwater, the real-life surroundings of Barranco Oscuro look similar: the soil is brown, sandy, and interrupted by rocks; the sky is almost always cloudless and radiant blue. However, unlike in Leone’s western, the vegetation here isn’t dominated by cacti but by small, stunted vines, spaced far apart due to chronic water scarcity. These vines were gradually planted by Manuel Valenzuela in the 1980s on the slopes around his estate, which he had purchased in 1979 after many years of traveling through Spain’s major cities.

Manuel was born in the 1940s as the second-youngest of nine children in a farming family at the foot of the Sierra Nevada. He was sent to study in Madrid, became a chemist, moved to France and later to Barcelona, before deciding in the late 1970s to turn his back on the city and chemistry—and return to the land to become a farmer again.

31 Grape Varieties

At the time, Barranco Oscuro ("The Dark Ravine") consisted of several hectares of almond trees planted on gently rolling hills, established after phylloxera had decimated the region’s vineyards. Manuel had little interest in almonds and began replanting the land with vines. Alongside traditional local varieties (Vigiriega, Pedro Ximenez, Montùa, Moscatel, Tintorera), he also introduced key national grapes (Tempranillo, Garnacha) and important international ones (Syrah, Pinot Noir, Viognier, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot).

He bottled his first wine in 1984. By 1985, his approach and philosophy were already so well-formed that he decided to begin selling his wines, and in 1987, he launched his first single-varietal bottlings—wines that quickly earned recognition far beyond the Alpujarras.

Organic Since 1979

Manuel—who has been energetically supported for years by his son Lorenzo and daughter-in-law Luisa—never made any secret of his disdain for conventional agriculture. From day one, he has rejected chemical treatments of any kind.

His soils and vines have never been exposed to pesticides, and for many years now, no fertilizers either.

Yields are low, partly due to the meager rainfall and partly because of the altitude. The nearby sea exerts its influence mainly in summer, when occasional clouds drift up into the Sierra and coat the vineyards with morning dew and moisture.

Luz – The Power of Light

The Valenzuela vineyards are situated almost entirely above 1,000 meters above sea level, which brings significant consequences. For one, the wines retain a surprising level of acidity given the latitude (they’re on the same parallel as Tunis). But there’s more: above 900 meters, the nature of light changes dramatically. It becomes more intense, which alters photosynthesis—affecting the plant, the grape skin, the pulp, and ultimately the aromas.

All these factors naturally express themselves in the wines—of which the Valenzuelas make quite a few. Alongside a handful of house classics (Pino Rojo, Brut Nature, Varetuo, Tres Uves, 1368, Rubiyat), their range is constantly expanded through ongoing experimentation. They approach this process entirely without dogma, trying out whatever inspires them and never hesitating to subvert expectations.

The only common denominator: a complete absence of additives. For the Valenzuelas, it’s all about giving the expression of their land and grape varieties the final word—while keeping themselves as much out of the equation as possible.