VARIETIES
of the grape
RIBERA DEL DUERO
TINTO – TEMPRANILLO
After experimenting with various diverse varieties, we recognize that Tempranillo is the queen of Ribera del Duero.
It adapts well to this extreme climate and is the only variety that generously offers an exceptional ageing potential.
· 140 hectares of Tinto Fino (Tempranillo).
· Gumiel de Mercado: 94 hectares (Altitude 800m)
· Villanueva de Gumiel: 46 hectares (Altitud 900m)
WHITE – ALBILLO MAYOR
Our White grape is an exceptional antioxidant, which allows us to elaborate young wines without having to make any additions. Also, due to a rigorous grape selection we can age our whites for a long time both in oak and in bottle allowing a complex development of aromas and flavours in white Reserve and Gran Reserves. White Albillo Mayor wine can stand up to any great international white wine.
· 12 hectares of Albillo Mayor White grape.
ALTITUDE
I have always thought that what has accompanied us the most in this journey is that mixture of intuition, instinct that some call luck and most of all: the choice of terroir..
We settled initially in the upper area of the Ribera del Duero (at 840m above sea level) after checking the great structure of the grapes in this area, whilst many others took to the lowlands which are more productive, we decided to plant in even higher ground – at 900 meters! Wonderful! What a perfect combination of tannins! What a great structure! What a peculiar personality! How lucky are we!”
Yolanda García Viadero
We want each bottle of Valduero to be a trip to the highlands of the Ribera del Duero. We showcase a grape with its own obvious identity that prevails, different from that of the rest of the world and that defies time.
“It gives us great satisfaction to hear a Master of Wine say that Valduero belongs to that small group of great wines in the world, which are born from natural vineyards in the highlands.“
Carolina García Viadero
RESPECTING THE EARTH
From the start, Valduero has always intended to strictly respect the land.
Yolanda and Carolina García Viadero, have always been aware that they are here just seconds in the history of their lands. For this reason, they don´t demand more from the land than it can give.
For Valduero “taking care of the land has never been just a passing idea but a result of experience in the search for excellence”.
In VALDUERO we have planted more than 500.000 vines of the native grape variety Tempranillo: this is our first contribution to the environment.
Yolanda conceived a natural form of viticulture, dispensing with the use of chemical fertilizers, in order not to pollute the groundwater or the soil, in such a way that no chemical affects the microfauna of the earth. Our plants are fertilized with sheep manure, never with chemicals.
NATURAL WATER RESOURCES
The 152 hectares of Ribera del Duero vineyards are planted as bush vines and are dry farmed expressing their respect for natural resources in an area where water is scarce. The plants protect their grapes, looking for water in the subsoil and leads to a limited number of grapes valued for their limited production.
RESPECTING THE GRAPE
Grapes are handpicked, in small baskets to preserve their healthiness and avoid the use of machinery.
We obtain a unique grape which is sourced from one of the highest points in the Ribera del Duero and yields maximum 4000 kg. por hectare.
Yolanda is totally against the selection of bunches with a machine, and argues that “this type of mechanical selection homogenizes wines, turning them into wines similar to one another, generic global wines”
“In Valduero we select the grapes depending on the climate, the is the determining factor in the quality of grapes in Ribera del Duero.
Low yields become jewels in bottles of wine that are classed amongst the best in the world.
As we are in the highest point of the Ribera, we generally don´t have problems with mould (mildew, oidium etc) so we use phytosanitary products sparsely. We protect our plants from disease but due to the altitude(800-900metre) we have few problems.