BVC Bodegas – Quality, trust and respect in DO Utiel-Requena

The brainchild of Valérie Bataille and Benoit Calvet, BVC Bodegas was founded in 2014 as a sister project of the couple’s Bordeaux-based Maison BVC (Benoit and Valérie Calvet). Having started their négociant business in 1985, the entrepreneurs have since developed a comprehensive range of terroir-led wines by seeking like-minded partners in singular regions across France, Spain and Italy.

In Utiel-Requena they not only found a unique landscape of incredible viticultural potential but also a community eager to embrace new projects.

Partnership-led development

The development of BVC is inextricably linked to the relationship developed between the Calvets and Grupo Coviñas, Utiel-Requena’s leading cooperative. By forging a successful partnership, BVC not only buys fruit from the cooperative but also engages in an exchange of ideas and knowledge that has been fruitful and invigorating for both parties.

If the unspoiled authenticity of Utiel-Requena’s land and people is what first drew Valérie and Benoit to a perhaps unlikely corner of Spain, they have been able to develop a thriving and innovative venture thanks to the openness, support and efficiency of their local partners.

This dynamic has validated Utiel-Requena’s legacy and viticultural potential while supporting the development of the local winemaking sector. It has also opened new commercial opportunities and marketing avenues for the local grapes and wines. BVC’s Toro Loco brand, exported across the world, has done much to raise awareness of Utiel-Requena’s flagship grape variety, Bobal, and of the region’s potential to yield vibrant, expressive wines that serve as perfect everyday-drinking companions. It has also proven that it is possible to build commercially viable, scalable projects while remaining respectful to local growers and to the identity of a place.

Clear values

The way BVC has carved its place in Utiel-Requena, in respectful dialogue with local stakeholders, echoes the company’s core values: quality, trust and respect. In 2024, following Valérie and Benoit’s retirement, BVC Bodegas became part of the AdVini group, a leader in terroir-led projects – and thus maintained its original focus on supporting the local terroir and stakeholders.

Through a mutual process of questioning, learning and support, BVC has supported the focus on efficient, sustainable viticultural practices, the development of innovative products and experimentation in the cellar. This in turn relies on an interesting combination of local, ancestral knowledge; an understanding of the specificity of the region; and BVC’s daring, entrepreneurial vision.

This combination has already yielded a strong brand – Toro Loco, distributed in the UK exclusively by Aldi – with a dynamic range of wines that question our preconceptions and offer an approachable, modern yet authentic interpretation of what a DO Utiel-Requena wine can be.

This has not meant losing a sense of curiosity and wonder – the space BVC occupies, adjacent to the Coviñas cellar, is a lab where experimental work is done and personal and shared projects take shape. La Finca Musica, for example, is a single-vineyard wine fermented and aged in clay amphorae under the frequency known in music theory as Verdi’s ‘A’ (432Hz), thought to be harmonious with the Universe and conducive for calm and clarity – principles that BVC Bodegas both sought in and brought to Utiel-Requena.

Two wines that capture the sustainability approach of BVC Bodegas

Toro Loco Superior

Tempranillo 60%, Bobal 40%

A wine that has taken DO Utiel-Requena’s name to the world. A Tempranillo-led blend that emphasises the potential for freshness of the local terroirs. The dark, lush Tempranillo fruit is topped with Bobal’s trademark herbal edge. Soft tannins and juicy texture make for a great everyday drinker.

Toro Loco La Finca Musica

Bobal 100%

BVC Bodegas’ flagship, single-vineyard wine, fermented and aged in clay amphorae, with a continuous frequency of 432Hz. The process yields a wine of great detail, finely textured, with crunchy red fruit lined and marked sweet spice. Delicious herbal edge on the finish.