Ricardo Valpincia

How did you get into wine business?

I was born in Argentina. My grandparents were Galician. They started working very young in Penafiel, on Duero’s banks, before leaving to Argentina for a better life. They became wine growers and producers. We promised to our grandfather that we would return to his native land. We came back to Spain and, even though the times were different, we achieved the know-how that he had given us.
We have Argentinian blood. Alberto Cortes, an Argentinian singer who lives in Spain describes our history in one song, “The Grandfather”. All of our Bodegas carry the same story. This story is my heritage, the love of my parents and my grandparents, and their passion for the soils and the vines. This is the way I came to wine.

Do you remember your first experience with wine?

Of course! During the joy of a harvest, either it is good or not, there is always hope. Since I was born, I was eager to prove it. With my friends, we were used to getting “zahato” (traditional flasks) full of wine. We were curious and we liked to discover the perfumes and the flavors of grapes. I remember the perfumes of the vine and the picking. The flavor of the first grape juice without alcohol. The smell of fermentations, and the barrel cellar with hints of wood.
Today, I still remember this unique moment when all these flavors return to my memory. I have never encountered such an emotion. I have tasted many wines in my life, but I will always remember the first one. The day I turned eleven, my father invited me to taste half a glass of each vintage. This is a tough paragraph. I don’t want to cut out his message, but it jumps around a lot.

Is there anything special you would like to tell us about your winery, your labels…?

We produce premium quality wines, thanks to our soils and vines that we take care of. We come from a ludic and dreamer generation of producers. We are a new generation and we’re able to produce the best grapes, and make great wines. We have an international team of agronomists and oenologists. Some of them, like Roberto Cipresso, are known for their almost perfect wines (e.g. 99 points. Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate.)
We are very happy and proud that one of our Argentinian Malbec’s recently received 95 points by Decanter Magazine. Our young team of specialists like to think about wine, discussing topics such as the future of the wine world. All of this is in their hands. We peak around 1100 - 1300 meters in Argentina, in the valley of Uco (Mendoza). Here in Spain, over the Duero, we are 600 – 900 meters high and our bodega is at the foot of the Castle of Penafiel. In one part of the world we produce Malbec, and in another, Tempranillo. We get the best from our grapes, and we’re always looking for quality. Every single day, we want to make a better wine, this is why we are so demanding at the time of filling barrels. Imagining the best way of “thinking” about the wine, we’re always seeking the best soils, with the purest vines and the barrels that fit the best.

How did you hear about H&A?

We are really demanding about the choice of our barrels and types of wood. For us, it was difficult to gather a complete range of barrels, with various origins, years and coopers at one time. Our Spanish oenologist, who shares the same philosophy, found himself facing a “Universal Library of barrels” and we needed very different barrels.
We heard that H&A could provide us with a large range of used barrels (origins, coopers, capacities, etc.). That was really new to us! In a short period of time, H&A provided us with barrels “signed” by Cipresso. That would have taken much more time if we had used another way of acquisition.

What do you appreciate at H&A?

Good professional practices, excellent services, transparency of the offer, relevant financial proposals, with an open mind to special requirements. We know their removal process, as well as the quality controls they make on barrels and in their logistic hub, where orders and deliveries are prepared. H&A came to us at the right time and allows us more time to care about our wine.

How would you describe your relationship with H&A?

A good relationship, very professional, and we can easily discuss each operation. Recently, I have followed an exchange of mails between H&A director and an oenologist and could see that they were very sensitive to the relationship they have with their clients. To me, this is the right way to maintain a constructive relationship. H&A is a good company with clever people.