Four sisters born into a family of viticulturists in the small town of Sotillo de la Ribera (Burgos), three of them married to viticulturists, are the seed of the Valdaya family wine project.
When one of the sisters, Elena López, married Joaquín González, a native of Barcelona, she moved to Catalonia to develop a successful career in the decoration and construction business sectors. After a few years they decided to create a winery on the Burgos road in their hometown, together with Elena's family members who would provide the grapes, in order “to be able to forge a lasting relationship between her growing family in Barcelona and her roots in Sotillo ”.
The winery was founded in 2006. The first years, they admit, "were difficult." In 2013, Marta Ramas and Miguel Fisac, a couple of agronomists and oenologists who met and fell in love while studying in Bordeaux, joined the project. After completing their studies, they worked for prestigious Bordeaux firms and also for wineries in New Zealand, California and South Africa. But first Marta from Valladolid and then Miguel decided to return home after receiving an offer from Valdaya. And just a few days ago the De Haan Altés group, owner of the Gandesa Herència Altés winery (DO Terra Alta), has just acquired Valdaya. De Haan Altés had already been running the management and marketing of Valdaya since 2015.
His “challenge and obsession”, says Marta Ramas, is to preserve high acidity and a low pH. And she adds that "the color in the wine comes to us as punishment" and that, for this reason, they work with macerations that are almost infusions. The cold nights in the last phase of maturation give them fresh and floral tempranillos. Marta Ramas affirms that her wines "are the expression of their soils". They perform plot micro fermentations, and carry out each process manually to express the maximum potential of each terroir. The concept, they say, is simple: from each of the nine best vineyard plots of the family producers they elaborate separately to later decide the best blend.
Its vineyards were planted in Sotillo de la Ribera, Baños de Valdearados and Gumiel de Mercado. They total about 30 hectares, of which they select 12. Their grapes come from a selection of old vineyard plots from Burgos planted in goblet between 70 and 90 years ago at high altitude (910-912 meters above sea level). Its yield is very low, around 2,000 kilos per hectare.
Each parcel is harvested and vinified separately to allow each small terroir to express its potential. Its vineyards grow on soils formed on tertiary sedimentary materials from a large ancient razed plinth. The strata of the river basin show some undulation as a result of the differential erosion of the hydrographic basins. The Mirum berries are born in limestone soils with rounded pebbles, with a clay base, daughters of a family vineyard planted in a goblet 80 years ago on a hillside in Baños de Valdearados. They practice organic farming, although without certification. The harvest is done manually in boxes of 20 kilos.
The climate is classified as continental, with a predominance of dry summers and long, severe winters. In addition, there is a large thermal amplitude between the different seasons. The average rainfall is moderate-low (400-600 mm/year) and the average insolation is 2,400 hours/year. For many, it is stated from this winery, the 2020 vintage is "ideal, dreamy". Moderate alcoholic degrees, between 13 and 14%, high acidity and optimal phenolic maturity. They are analytical parameters that augur a good aging of the wines. 2020 was a year with a high affectation of the mildew fungus. However, in his case, the altitude and the area played a role of ally and protector of his vineyards, avoiding rainy fronts and subsequent contamination of the fungus.
Spring and summer in the Burgos Ribera developed with mild temperatures at the beginning and warmer in subsequent weeks, especially during the fruit set and veraison season. It was in the month of September, when the temperatures softened again, which caused a slow ripening of the bunches, but without pause and without vegetative stops due to hydric stress. For this reason, they managed to reach the balance between phenolic and technological maturity (alcohol content, pH and acidity fundamentally). In addition, the 2020 vintage also stood out for having the last stage after veraison with cool temperatures at night, which meant that the primary aromas of the grape were preserved. This allowed them to vinify some clusters "loaded with fruit aromas, balanced on the palate and marked acidity."
The Mirum comes from a selection of plots of old vines (60-80 years), at high altitudes (910 meters) planted in goblet and with very low yields (1500 kg/ha). The grapes are transferred to the winery in an SUV after being selected in the vineyard. The acidity was corrected in the must and the maceration was long. Its alcoholic fermentation took place in a tartarized ovoid concrete tank, and malolactic and aging in 500-liter fine-grain French oak barrels for 18 months. In the winery, the grapes are destemmed and incubated in open barrels and concrete, where they macerate for 2-3 days. Right after the spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts begins, which lasts about 20 days. Light punching is carried out daily to favor extraction. Once the alcoholic fermentation is complete, the flower wine from each plot is transferred to a selection of 500-litre fine-grain barrels "according to its aging potential and organoleptic characteristics", where malolactic fermentation and subsequent aging are carried out for 18 months.
Mirum 2020 has a high robe and the color of picota cherries, clear and bright. It exhibits ripe red and black fruit, evidencing the warmth of the vintage. It also stands out with frank notes of licorice and a markedly lactic bed. It is elegant, tasty and presents a good balance, complexity and depth, although a little more time per bottle would not go amiss. Marta Ramas affirms that with this wine they have tried to take "a photo of the variety, the soil and the changing climate". He likes to pair this riverside red with a roasted pularda. It is also ideal for lamb gizzards, mushroom cannelloni with béchamel, cured Castilian cheeses or rabbit stewed with snails.
Its total production is around 50,000 bottles per year, of which they exported 70% in 2022. Its main international markets are the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden. As for new projects, they are currently carrying out tests with the Albillo Mayor variety, "although it remains to be seen if we will decide to put it on the market," according to Marta Ramas.
