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Valeyo, new project of Mauro wineries in Bierzo
Valeyo is the wine from Bodegas Mauro in the historic area of Bierzo, the fifth winemaking territory of the García family, preceded by Bodegas Mauro (1978, Tudela de Duero), San Román (1997, DO Toro), Garmón Continental (2014, DO Ribera del Duero) and Baynos (2020, DO La Rioja).
The experience of Bodegas Mauro in El Bierzo began in 2013 with the production of Mauro Godello, a commitment to great aging whites.
After the selection and progressive acquisition of small plots in the area, Bodegas Mauro settles in El Bierzo with the purchase of a historic winery in Villafranca in 2019 and with the first vintage of the Mencía parcel red: Valeyo 2021.
A small-production family adventure, which is committed to excellence, ties to the territory and organic farming.
El Bierzo offers differentiating conditions of relief, climate and soil that allow the production of great, distinctive and fine wines, with a clear Atlantic imprint.
Its geomorphology was determined by the Alpine orogeny, which produced the elevation of the surrounding mountains and the sinking of the amphitheater-shaped tectonic trench, what is known today as the “Hoya Berciana” .
Surrounded by mountains, the region is located between 700 and 500 meters above sea level, at the crossroads of the two Iberian climatic domains (the Mediterranean and the Atlantic) with a more temperate and benign microclimate. The average annual temperature is mild (about 12 o C), the annual sunshine is 2,100-2,200 hours and the annual rainfall exceeds 600 mm per year, with summer aridity, typically Mediterranean.
The soils are complex, loose and have a silty loam texture. The Tertiary materials, older and deeper, were covered with Quaternary sedimentary materials on the surface (sand and pebbles) and contributions of decomposed slate from the surrounding mountains. This Bercian edaphic personality confers great minerality to the wines.
The winemaking tradition of Bierzo dates back to more than 2,000 years ago, when the Romans, great promoters of the agricultural region, expanded crops, techniques, routes and population settlements. The medieval period brought about a new splendor for Bercian viticulture, thanks to the Camino de Santiago and the Cistercian monasteries.
Viticulture continues to be one of the pillars of agriculture in El Bierzo, along with the flourishing fruit crops.
The winery is located in the old town of Villafranca, in two old buildings rehabilitated respecting the traditional Bercian architecture of which they are representatives.
Proof of this is the typical covered corridor with a wooden railing located on the first floor that runs along the façade from side to side.
The three traditional construction materials of Bierzo predominate: stone, slate and wood.
The thick slate schist walls allow a thermal advantage, regulating the interior temperature with respect to the exterior.
The roof of the winery is made of slate, as is usual in the region with an abundance of this waterproof material.
Chestnut wood, recurrent in Bercian forests, dominates the winery's carpentry in windows, doors, stairs and lintels.
Bodegas Mauro has 10 hectares of vineyards in the municipalities of Valtuille de Arriba and Villafranca del Bierzo, planted with the Godello, Mencía and other varieties.
Valeyo comes from Miguel Rey's plot, 3 hectares in V altuille de Arriba, at 650 meters of altitude. With yields of between 4,000 and 5,000 kg, the vineyard is trained on trellises on acidic and loose soils, with a loamy-clayey-sandy texture.
The area benefits from the temperate microclimate of the Bercian basin, sheltered from cold winds. Temperatures are milder and there is less risk of late frosts.
The vine cycle is earlier and the harvest starts earlier than in other neighboring areas, which favors early-sprouting and early-ripening varieties, such as Godello and Mencía, the main grapes in the Bercian vineyards.
The cultivation of the vineyard is organic, with biodynamic practices, as a guarantee of preventive and sustainable viticulture that contributes to maintaining the fertility and balance of the soil and preventing its erosion.