THE SPIRIT OF CREATIVITY

By around 1995, the Álvarez family had already embarked on its incursion into the wine world underpinned by experience and the successful evolution of the group's gem, Vega Sicilia, and with its new project, Alión, already underway. It was time to broaden its horizons.

In the same way that had happened with the creation of Alión nearly a decade earlier, they carefully studied the possible zones where to implement their new project. After a year of careful study, they were convinced that the Duero is Spain's great wine-making river, as they had already been able to establish in its two Ribera wineries, and further endorsed by the Port region, in the neighbouring Portugal, when the river enters the sea. Thus, the new venture focused on the Toro denomination of origin, located one hundred kilometres downstream.

Once the decision had been taken, they got things underway and began to buy any old vineyards that were available, choosing the San Román de Hornija wasteland, a zone of boulders formed by the Duero deposits since time immemorial.

During the four following years, a whole range of production experiments were carried out to discover the potential of the Toro wines: grapes from different vineyards were made into wine, the ageing was carried out in many different barrels and experimenting with the times that the wine was left in them, with the malolactic fermentation taking place in the barrels themselves or in new barrels. Nearly a hundred options were considered before the final choices were made. After this complicated experimenting had been completed, the conclusion was reached that it is a style of wine where the most important aspect lies in conserving the fruitiness of the grape. The whole wine making and ageing process is focused on preserving it and at the same time, it seeks to provide it with the utmost elegance possible in such an austere region as Toro.

Meanwhile, the construction of the winery, which began in the year 2000, was progressing and was completed in 2006. It is a modern and practical winery in design, where no detail is lost that could intervene in achieving the maximum quality of wine: a reception area with cold chambers to preserve the temperature of the grape; a fermentation facility with oak tanks fitted with a cooling system; a large barrel room that are easy to move through; and a roomy and climate controlled bottling room where the two vintages between the one on the market and the one being prepared are stored.

After producing many vintages Pintia can be said to have reached its main objective: to achieve the maximum elegance possible in a rustic area such as Toro. Meticulous care is therefore taken with all the processes, from the harvesting to their resting in bottles prior to being sold.

Depending on the characteristics of the vintage, the barrels are 70% French or 30% American oak in origin, and the wine remains there for approximately 12  to 15 months, before being bottled. The time in the bottle will never be under 12 months prior to the wine being released on the market, as the accumulated experience indicates that that rest makes the wine blossom.

In the same way as Alión, Pintia is a "unique" wine, as there is no second brand, which guarantees that it will always be the best wine possible that can be prepared according to the natural conditions of the harvest.