Writing about David Sampedro is not an easy task for me. Not because it’s difficult but because I picture him looking at me with a frown and that gets me scared. But what the hell! I must separate the wines from the winemaker when writing. Or should I not… Heck!
I’ve known David for a long time, though I still don’t dare to say that we are friends, lest he read this and gets angry with me for speaking ill of him. From the respect, and the distance of a not hug, I do consider him a friend, but maybe I’m fooling myself. I have also known his wines for a long time. Not all of them, as he produces many and I don’t have time to try everything. But everything I’ve tried so far, which has been a lot and some of the wines from various vintages, I’m passionate about. At home I have plenty and every time I host a tasting some of his wines are always in the mix.
David is one of those winemakers who have his style, something that I think it is very difficult to achieve. Their wines have a very defined style and when you identify it, you recognize it easily. Their wines have the ‘DavidSampedro’ touch. Personally, that touch has me in love. Not only his white wines, which, following his family’s tradition, are all macerated with the skins. His reds also have a soul, and it is a soul, as I say, with a lot of personality.
I met David through an orange wine tasting that I organized for his tasting group and the next occasion I shared with him was at a tasting in his winery. First we ate local produce, lamb chops included, accompanied by several bottles of wine from David and Melanie Hickman (his partner and winemaker as well). From this I remember that I immediately fell in love with their whites, Phinca Hapa (from Melanie) and Thousand Mils. Then he opened a Phinca La Revilla Sixth Year (probably a 2011) and that’s when I fell at his feet. I won’t forget the look on his face when I told him it was one of the best orange wines I’d ever tasted. Not of gratitude, but rather of thinking: “and what the hell does he know.” Affirmation, not a rhetorical question.
Then we started the tasting reason of our meeting. Each attendee brought a bottle of wine, but as often happens, there was more bottles than attendees. After enjoying the tasting we went down to the cellar and another tasting began. That was when I already got to knew his art. We tried almost everything there was to try, including wines that were fabulous but he refused to tell us what they were. What did become clear to me after tasting everything is that David undoubtedly has a touch for making wine, an art. A fascinating art.
It is not now a matter of listing all the wines we tried with a tasting note. You as a faithful reader already know what I like, so it won’t be difficult for you at this point in the article to understand that everything David does is very good. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever tried anything of his I didn’t like, including some of the oddities he’s made. Yes, I will tell you that their whites seem exceptional to me in all the vintages I have tried, which have been several of each one. The aforementioned Thousand Mils and La Revilla (as I said, one of my three favorite Spanish oranges), Phinca Durmiente (a Rufete Blanco from Salamanca), Kha mé (Garnacha Blanca aged in amphora). On one occasion I also tried Costa de Santa Mariña, a Rías Baixas that he produced back in 2013.
Among the reds there is a lot of material to choose from. There are two wines that I have not tried yet: Phinca La Revilla Sexto Año Tinto and Phinca Abejera (I already have a bottle of this). There are two wines that excite me: Phinca El Vedao (Garnacha), and Phincas, which I think is Tempranillo.
At the end I have listed the wines, but hey, it is understandable because I am passionate about it. I won’t say that I’m passionate about David, because I would never forgive myself for that. But I will say that when we taste together we have similar tastes and I at least I really enjoy tasting with him. He’s a good guy, even though he tries to hide it. I even remember one day when he gave me a hug, and we hadn’t started tasting yet. It is a memory that I cherish very much because it has not happened again.
Another thing that I really like about David is his wine philosophy. He has been certified in organic farming for years and has been following biodynamic practices for a few years now, and is already in the process of obtaining that certification as well. In their case, both Melanie and David have taken biodynamics beyond wines by creating a holistic entity, a farm as a living entity in which dogs, cats, chickens, geese and bees live together. They also use horses for farming. They generate their own energy, have their own garden… A concept of life that goes far beyond making wine in a certain way.
I remember one day we went for a walk in the mountains bike. At the entrance of a vineyard I fell and my straps got caught, so I ended up with my back on the ground and the wheels up. David started laughing and taking pictures of me. That’s when I thought we could become friends. But that moment happened quickly, I completely lost that feeling.
I would tell you that soon we will talk to David Sampedro about his wine philosophy, but I’m afraid that’s going to be complicated.
P.S. I couldn’t find the bike photo. I’m sorry. The one in the header is Melanie’s.