Bodegas Bhilar Phinca El Vedao Rioja 2019
An expressive Garnacha with inviting aromas of red berried fruit complimented by a delicate floral touch. The fruit feels vibrant on the palate from the balancing coolclimate acidity, with fine tannins and a subtle chalky texture from the limestone soils.
This wine is made from pure Garnacha sourced from three terraces in Elvillar's El Vedao area. This is a small zone, rich in Garnacha vines due to its unique microclimate in which this variety thrives. El Vedao is a valley, which offers protection during the flowering stage, when Garnacha being a sensitive variety can struggle. Rocky, limestone soils are woven throughout this zone and impart the wines with a chalky texture. This estate village wine comes from high-altitude vineyards where the vines are old, low yielding and dry-farmed bush vines. They produce a distinctive, beautifully structured expression of Garnacha. The vines are organically and biodynamically cultivated and following a philosophy of low intervention in the vineyard, the soils are ploughed by horse and the grapes are hand-harvested.
The grapes were destemmed and fermented with indigenous yeasts in 2,000-litre concrete vats, before being aged in 400 and 500-litre used French oak barrels for three years.
| Vintage | 2019 |
| Alcoholic strength | 14.5% |
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Rioja |
| Subregion | Rioja Alavesa |
| Grapes | Garnacha 100% |
| Residual sugar (g/l) | 1.2 |
| Body | C |
| Contains sulphites | Yes |
| Vegetarian | Yes |
| Vegan | Yes |
| Milk | No |
| Eggs | No |
| Organic | Yes |
| Biodynamic | No |
| Closure | Cork |
Bodegas Bhilar is a boutique winery located in Elvillar, Rioja Alavesa, run by husband-and-wife team, David Sampedro and Melanie Hickman. Together, they make terroir-driven wines with soul, while respecting the land and working with indigenous grapes.
For over 20 years the land has been cultivated organically, biodynamically for 15 of those and in 2014, horses replaced tractors in the vineyards. They have been Demeter certified since 2022. David Sampedro Gil grew up in the same vineyards he works today. While earning his masters in oenology, David started his career working in some of the larger wineries in Rioja. Realising that great wines are made in the vineyard, he returned to his vineyards and established Bhilar, reflecting his winemaking philosophy of making unique wines that evoke a sense of place, using sustainable agriculture and minimal intervention in the winery. Bhilar is the Basque name for his village, Elvillar. Their wines are full of personality and perfectly capture the characteristics of the cool-climate vineyards. In 2020, Tim Atkin MW awarded them Winemaker of the Year.
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