VALDEPILA

Valdepila is the name of a small valley that cascades from the highlands situated at 900 meters above sea level down into the valley of the Duero River at 750 meters. A thousand years ago it became home to a hermitage because of its peaceful stillness and remote location. Today one can still feel the attraction of that stillness that remains ever present in those lands.

In the not too distant past, yet in the last century, the vineyards dominated the landscape. With the passage of time and continued emigration from the area, the slopes were left barren. Today our vineyards are regaining their former grandeur and dominion over the valley at different elevations and in all directions.

Our father tells how, in years past, the harvest became synonymous with trembling legs, for having to hoist the grapes upon your shoulders and carry them downhill. He also remembers how it was said that wine there “it looked more like rum than [any] wine”, something that certainly had to do with our grandfather having been born in Cuba.

The Valdepila label is a selection of the finest wine grapes from this region, resulting from careful cultivation coupled with a deliberate and select limited production. The vines themselves are of the Tempranillo variety, planted in an arrangement of 2,200 vines per hectare and with yields ranging between 3,000 and 3,500 kg per hectare in the areas we use for the producing this wine.

Winemaking philosophy

Our winemaking philosophy is simple—it is to treat the vines with the utmost respect. We do not use herbicides or chemical fertilizers and we work the soil minimally.

We believe that wine is born and made on the vine. The grape is paramount. Only the most perfect, unblemished grapes are used—handpicked outdoors first, and then again, inside the winery, where fermentation is started using natural, native yeasts and where our pact with the grape becomes predicated on non-intervention.

Once in the wine cellar, the grapes are cooled and then we, with much patience, extreme thoroughness, and utmost respect throughout the entire process, imbue the wine with the best the grape can offer, using the least intervention possible in the most natural way—nature's way.

Our wines are a very limited edition series, each outstanding and unique—receiving their final touch in fine wood barrels after having been shaped by the vine—and culminating in a product distinguished for its complexity and aromatic intensity, powerful yet with great balance, and above all, natural


 

More information on the vintages: 2012 / 2013 / 2014 / 2015 / 2016 / 2017

Barrel aged / Crianza-grade 12 months in French oak barrels (85%) and American (15%) with 225 and 500 liter capacities. 12 months in bottle.
Private vineyards Selection of grapes from 2 private plots that comprise 3 hectares.
Origin Designation Ribera del Duero
Variety 100% Tempranillo, planted in the early 1990s.
Soil Lime, clay, and sand composition at 750-800 meters above sea level
Climate /Precipitation Continental / 450 mm
Yield per hectare Varies among plots from 3,000 to 3,500 kg/hectare
Fermentation 2,500 liter capacity open-air stainless steel 20 days of fermentation at temperatures of 25-28ºC
Maceration For 4 to 5 weeks. Stirred by hand.
Ratings 2016: 91 Gilbert & Gaillard (2021)- 90 Guía Peñín (2019)
2015: 91 Andreas Larson (2018) - 91 Guía Peñín (2018) - Plata Mundus Vini (2018)
2013: 17 Vinum (2020) -Oro, Vinus (2018) - 91 Andreas Larson (2017)- - Silver, Cathay Pacific (2018)
2012: 94 Wine & Spirits (2017) - 91 Pedro Ballesteros MW (Bruselas, 2017)- 17 Weinzeitung (Suiza, 2016) Plata Concurso de Bruselas 2015
Tasting note Inky dark purple colour. Youthful nose, ripe dark fruit, dry spices, liquorice and vanilla notes. Dense palate with ripe dark fruit, crushed blackberry and plum notes, soft extraction, fine tannin, juicy and fresh with discreet oak, ripe dark fruit and long finish. Attractive drinking already. (Andreas Larsson)

Black cherry, mulberry and blackcurrant notes at first, with some earthy flavours like forest floor. Good mocha and chocolate notes together with some strong cherry flavours, with good complexity. Good to drink now, with a meat-heavy dish, or to keep for some time. (Sommelier Wine Awards, London)

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