Bodega Valdaya was set up by Elena and Joaquin Gonzalez as a small family business and is now run by their daughter Miriam. The vision for the winery changed dramatically under her management and in 2013 they took on two young winemakers, Marta Ramas and Miguel Fisac, who have brought the wines into a different league. They only make two wines, for which the fruit comes from a selection of 100% Tempranillo grown on old bush vines vinified in separate parcels using indigenous yeasts. Maceration continues for 28 days in barrel before the free-run wine of each parcel passes into a selection of new barrels according to their potential for ageing – 90% French oak, 10% Hungarian oak, 6 different coopers. Marta and Miguel are immensely talented and these wines are oozing with age-worthy complexity and elegance. These are future classics in the making.
Intense and complex with aromas of fruits of the forest, blackberries and currants, giving way to balsamics, violets and a whiff of smoke. On the palate the fruit is ripe but not jammy and gives the wine a lovely balance. Excellent acidity, great structure, minerality, and a silky mouthfeel.