The Village's Worst Vine Grower, the American Who Cashed Her Pension & the Winery with No Tractor
In Elvillar, a village of fewer than 500 people in Rioja Alavesa, David Sampedro and his wife Melanie Hickman farm 16 hectares of biodynamic, Demeter-certified vineyards with horses instead of tractors, make wine in concrete and oak without a single piece of stainless steel, and produce some of the most soulful, terroir-driven wines in the new Rioja.
Origin — The Bar in Madrid, the Pension Fund & the Dog Named Hapa
Bodegas Bhilar is not merely a winery. It is a love story, a rescue mission, and a rebellion against industrial wine — all fermenting in the same concrete tank. The name itself is a declaration of place: Bhilar is the Basque word for Elvillar, the tiny village in Rioja Alavesa where David Sampedro Gil was born, raised, and where his family has owned land for five generations. Some of the vineyards near the winery were planted by his grandfather in the late 1920s — vines that David still tends today, nearly a century later, with the same patience and the same hands.
David's journey began in 1999, when he started learning about the biodynamic philosophy of Rudolf Steiner and began to see his family's vineyards not as a source of grapes to sell to industrial bodegas, but as a living ecosystem that demanded a different kind of care. He converted to organic farming, then began following biodynamic tenets — and the reaction from his neighbors was immediate and hostile. His vineyards, overgrown with indigenous plants, looked nothing like the manicured, chemically treated rows of his fellow growers. They called him "the village's worst vine grower" — a reputation so concerning that fellow vine growers began visiting his mother to ask if David was okay. They had never seen a vineyard where weeds were not pulled or mowed down. The "natural" look was not in fashion. It was not understood. And David, armed with a master's degree in oenology and a conviction that great wine comes only from great vineyards, did not care.
Then came Melanie Hickman — an American from Ohio who had lived in Hawaii, who loved wine but had no formal training in it, and who met David in a bar in Madrid. She had a good job that paid well but did not make her happy. She was, as she describes herself, a person who "needs to love what she does." When she moved to Spain, she began helping David in any way she could — learning winemaking from the ground up, doing paperwork, lending a hand in the cellar. Working with David was difficult, she admits. He is reserved, artistic, and fiercely independent. "If someone tries to control him, it doesn't work. You have to let him be to do an amazing job." But she also recognized that the world needed to know what he was doing — that in the year 2000, when David converted everything to organic, nobody knew. As a consumer, she wanted to know where her wine came from, whether chemicals were used, whether the vines were cared for. And she believed these were stories that needed to be told.
The turning point for Melanie came with a dog named Hapa — her great companion from her years in Hawaii, who died shortly before she moved to Rioja. She cried for weeks. David, trying to make her feel better, promised to make a wine in Hapa's honor. He didn't — at least not immediately. But when they were walking through the hills of Elvillar one day, they came upon a vineyard. David pointed out the white soil, the mix of white and red varieties, and as they reached the top of the hill, Melanie decreed in her mind: "This vineyard will be mine." She called it "my Hapa vineyard" and never stopped. Two and a half years later, the owner called. He wanted to sell. The timing was terrible — their money was already invested in the bodega and their home. But Melanie had a private pension plan in the United States. She cashed it out — all of it — and bought the vineyard. "It was both brave and unconscious," she says. Her financial advisor told her that land and vines were a safe investment. The rest — making the wine, finding the market — was up to her. She took the risk. And the Phinca Hapa wines were born.
The Place — Elvillar, the Sierra Cantabria & the Limestone Soils of the Soul
Elvillar is a village of fewer than 500 people in the eastern end of Rioja Alavesa, nestled against the Sierra Cantabria mountains at approximately 600 metres above sea level — one of the higher areas in the sub-region. The climate is a convergence of influences: Mediterranean warmth from the south, Atlantic coolness from the north, and the constant wind that sweeps down from the mountains, keeping the vines naturally healthy and aerated. The soils are calcareous clay and limestone marl — poor, free-draining, and rich in the mineral character that defines the wines of this corner of Rioja. It is a place where the traditional Rioja blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Viura, and Malvasía has been grown for centuries, where smallholdings dominate, and where the landscape of rolling hills and ancient vines creates what the region's promotional materials call "an inimitable geographical setting."
16 Hectares, 2,000 Native Plants & a Farm as a Living Entity
What began in 1999 with three hectares has grown, through years of hard work and passion, to over 16 hectares of vines — all certified organic, all farmed following biodynamic tenets, and all worked exclusively by plow-horse. But the Bhilar estate is not merely a vineyard. It is a living farm — a holistic entity where dogs, cats, chickens, geese, bees, horses, fruit trees, and olive trees coexist with the vines. Over 2,000 native plants and trees have been planted throughout the vineyards and around the winery, creating a biodiversity that is not decorative but functional — a web of life that supports the vines, enriches the soil, and restores the natural harmony between man, earth, and cosmos that biodynamics seeks to achieve. The yields are exceptionally low — 3,000 to 3,500 kg per hectare, well below the Rioja appellation maximum of 6,500 kg/ha — ensuring that every grape carries the full concentration of its place.
The 2016 Winery — Off-Grid, Underground, No Stainless Steel
After many years as garagistes — making wine in whatever space was available — David and Melanie built their dream winery in 2016 on a secluded property surrounded by vineyards just outside Elvillar. The design is a manifesto in architecture: partially underground to help control temperature naturally, powered entirely by solar panels and a windmill, and not connected to the electricity grid. The fermentation tanks are concrete — massive, thermal-mass vessels that allow spontaneous fermentation without temperature control. There is no stainless steel in the winery. None. All fermentations and ageing take place in concrete or large oak tanks — a deliberate rejection of the clinical neutrality of steel in favor of materials that breathe, that carry memory, that allow the wine to interact with its environment. The winery is also Demeter-certified — the first in Rioja Alavesa to achieve this distinction — a recognition that the biodynamic philosophy extends from the vineyard into the cellar, the home, and the life of the family.
Horse-Ploughed, Hand-Tended, Milk-Whey Treated
Since 2014, no tractor has entered a Bhilar vineyard. The work is done by horse and by hand — ploughing, pruning, canopy management, harvesting. The only treatments applied to the vines are sulphur and milk whey — natural substances that protect against disease without disturbing the soil microbiome. The biodynamic preparations — the 500, the 501, the compost teas — are applied according to the lunar calendar, following the rhythms that Rudolf Steiner prescribed a century ago. David's intent is to grow grapes the way his grandfather did — a man who had no formal training as a winemaker but who understood, through pure knowledge and feeling of the land, that the best agriculture is the one that listens rather than commands. The result is vines that are deeply rooted, naturally resistant to disease, and capable of producing grapes of extraordinary purity and concentration.
The Grapes — Rioja's Indigenous Heart
The estate is planted to the classic indigenous varieties of Rioja Alavesa: Tempranillo — the dominant red, structured and aromatic; Garnacha — the secondary red, juicy and floral; Graciano — the dark, spicy, high-acid variety that David has championed through his Lágrimas de Graciano cuvée; Viura — the traditional white, fresh and mineral; Malvasía — the aromatic white, perfumed and complex; Garnacha Blanca — the textured, saline white; and smaller quantities of Maturana Tinta (also known as Bastardo), Calagraño, and Garnacha Gris — varieties that have survived in old vineyards and that David is actively recovering. In addition to rescuing small, old parcels, much energy is invested in restoring historic terraces and planting varieties that add freshness and complexity to the traditional blend. The goal is not merely to preserve what exists, but to leave the land in a better state than it was found for future generations.
Winemaking — No Stainless Steel, No Forced Malolactic & the DavidSampedro Touch
The philosophy of Bodegas Bhilar is distilled into a single, deceptively simple mission: "To make terroir-driven wines with soul, respect the land, work only with indigenous grapes, and to share their unique wines with good people with positive energy." This is not marketing copy. It is a method — a way of working that governs every decision from the pruning of the vines to the design of the label. David, although educated as an oenologist, first and foremost considers himself a vine grower. This sets the foundation for everything: it is all about the vineyards and how they grow. The cellar exists to translate what the vineyard has already decided.
All fermentations are spontaneous, initiated by native yeasts — no selected strains, no commercial inoculation, no temperature control. There is no forced malolactic fermentation — the wines undergo malolactic conversion naturally, if and when the conditions allow, preserving the acidity and freshness that are the signature of high-altitude, limestone-soil viticulture. The reds are fermented in open-top 225L and 500L oak barrels or in concrete tanks — never in stainless steel. The extraction is gentle: foot-pressing, punch-downs, and minimal manipulation. If destemming occurs, it happens above the fermentation vessel to avoid pumping — a small detail that reflects a larger principle: the less the wine is moved, the more it speaks of its place.
The ageing regime is equally deliberate. French oak barrels of 225L, 500L, and 600L foudres are used, mostly second and third use, so that the wood supports the wine without dominating it. The single-vineyard wines — Phinca Lali, Phinca Abejera, Phinca San Julián — are made in tiny volumes of around 1,000 bottles, using old opened barrels that are the only vessels small enough for such limited production. No yeast or other oenological product is used. Only small amounts of sulphur are added, and even that is kept to a minimum. The result is a range of wines that share a family resemblance — an elegance, a freshness, a purity of fruit that one importer described as the "DavidSampedro touch" — but each one speaks with its own voice, its own parcel, its own vintage.
David's whites are perhaps the most distinctive expression of his philosophy. Unlike the oxidative, heavy style of traditional white Rioja, David's whites are fresh, mineral, and often made with skin contact — a nod to the ancient practice of fermenting white grapes on their skins that David's family would have known generations ago. The Bhilar Blanco blends Viura with Garnacha Blanca and ferments with its skins for around 15 days before ageing in oak vessels of different sizes. The Phincas Thousand Mils — named because it blends different varieties, like different "milks" (though the patent office would not allow the word "milks") — comes from vineyards over 50 years old and is macerated with skins, giving it a bitter, fresh touch balanced by volume. And the Phinca Hapa Blanco — Melanie's wine — ferments with skins for over two months in a 2,000-litre concrete vat before being pressed and placed in 600L French foudres for one year. These are not white wines for the faint of heart. They are white wines with texture, with tannin, with the grip of the vineyard.
The Wines — From the Village Bhilar to the 1910 Phinca Lali & Melanie's Hapa
Bodegas Bhilar produces a focused, tiered range that moves from village wines to single-vineyard expressions — all made with indigenous varieties, all spontaneously fermented, all aged in concrete or oak without stainless steel, and all designed to express the limestone soils, the high altitude, and the biodynamic life of Elvillar. The range is divided across three labels: Bodegas Bhilar (the core range), David Sampedro Gil (the more experimental and regional projects), and Melanie Hickman / Struggling Vines / Etérea Kripan (Melanie's own wines, born from her personal journey and her vineyards).
Bhilar Tinto
Red — Village Wine — Elvillar, Rioja AlavesaThe flagship wine of the estate — a village-level red that captures the essence of Elvillar. A blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, and Viura sourced from young, biodynamically farmed vines with an average age of 30 years, planted on dry-farmed bush vines in calcareous clay soils. The grapes are hand-harvested, destemmed, and placed in concrete tanks for spontaneous fermentation with native yeast and without temperature control. Once finished, the wine is pressed and aged for 12–16 months in French oak barrels of different capacities (225L and 500L) as well as large oak vats. The result is a wine of remarkable freshness and purity — rich, dark hedgerow fruit, morello cherry, dried thyme, rosemary, and cloves, with fine-grained tannins and a clean, persistent finish. A wine that screams for lamb, for friends, for long evenings. ~13–14% ABV. ~25,000 bottles.
Bhilar Blanco
White — Village Wine — Elvillar, Rioja AlavesaA revolutionary white Rioja that challenges every assumption about what the region's whites can be. A blend of Viura and Garnacha Blanca — with potential contributions from Malvasía — from biodynamically farmed vines. The grapes are fermented with their skins for around 15 days before being aged for a year in oak vessels of different sizes. The result is a wine of extraordinary texture and complexity — not the heavy, oxidative white Rioja of the past, nor the thin, neutral white of the industrial present, but something altogether original: fresh, mineral, with the grip of skin contact and the aromatic lift of indigenous varieties. Notes of citrus peel, white peach, almond, and a smoky, limestone-driven finish. A white wine that improves with age and demands attention. ~12–13% ABV. ~18,000 bottles.
Lágrimas de Graciano
Red — Village Wine — Elvillar, Rioja Alavesa100% Graciano from young vines planted by David in Elvillar — a variety that has been neglected in modern Rioja in favor of Tempranillo and Garnacha, but that David champions for its extraordinary acidity, spice, and dark color. The wine is fresh and perfumed, with intensely aromatic notes of black pepper, thyme, and plummy sloes, and a hint of violets. Juicy, rounded, and appealing with delicate spice. Graciano is rarely bottled as a monovarietal in Rioja — it is usually a small blending component — but David believes it deserves its own voice. Aged for 12 months in large oak vats. The result is a wine that is elegant yet powerful — a reminder that Rioja's indigenous palette is far broader than the market acknowledges. ~13% ABV. ~€10.
Phincas
Red — Village Estate / Lieu-Dit — Elvillar, Rioja AlavesaThe main lieu-dit wine of the estate — an old-vine expression that follows the classic Rioja blend with a Bhilar twist. A blend of Tempranillo, Graciano, Garnacha, and Viura sourced from a variety of biodynamic estate vineyards, with vines averaging 50+ years of age. Hand-harvested, with a mixture of cluster fermentation and destemming — some whole bunch, some destemmed, depending on the vintage and the parcel. Fermented spontaneously in open vessels, then aged for 30 months in French oak barrels of different sizes before all the varieties and origins are blended in large oak vats for a further six months. The result is a wine of extraordinary complexity and depth — wild red berries, herbs, spicy nuances, fine tannins, and a balance that speaks of patience and place. A wine that carries the "DavidSampedro touch" in its most concentrated form. ~13–14% ABV. ~10,000 bottles.
Phincas Thousand Mils
Orange / Skin-Contact — Elvillar, Rioja AlavesaA skin-contact white that is as playful in name as it is serious in intent. The name comes from the blending of different varieties — like different "milks" — though the Spanish patent office would not allow the word "milks" because food names cannot be used on wine labels. Hence: Thousand Mils. Made from vineyards over 50 years old on the Abejera and Lali estates, blending Viura, Garnacha Blanca, and Malvasía. The grapes are macerated with their skins, giving the wine a bitter and fresh touch on the palate, balanced by good volume and a creamy, almost sherry-like texture. A wine that one taster described as "one of my three favorite Spanish orange wines" — complex, saline, and utterly distinctive. ~12–13% ABV. ~2,400 bottles.
Phinca Lali
Red — Single Vineyard — Elvillar, Rioja AlavesaThe most celebrated wine in the Bhilar range — and the one that put David on the map as a producer of "new school" Rioja. Sourced from the oldest vineyard in the estate's care, planted in 1910 and named after David's mother, affectionately known as Lali. This special parcel — one of the few passed down to David through his family — had been forgotten for decades before David rescued it from oblivion. It sits on a natural slope that follows the land's contours, worked by plow horses, isolated from neighboring parcels. The soils are unique: deep calcareous sandstone with a high level of crystalline decomposition. Planted with 90% Tempranillo and 10% Viura. The grapes are hand-harvested in 10kg cases, 70% destemmed, foot-crushed, and fermented spontaneously in open-top 500L oak barrels. Aged for 36 months in oak barrels. The result is a wine of intense depth, firm tannins, and extraordinary ageing potential — plum, cranberry, cherry, sweet liquorice, exotic spice, and a chalky mineral backbone. Less than 1,000 bottles in some vintages. A perfect expression of what old-vine, biodynamic, limestone Rioja can achieve. ~13–14% ABV. ~1,400 bottles. €54.
Phinca Abejera
Red — Single Vineyard — Elvillar, Rioja AlavesaSourced from an old vineyard surrounded by cypress trees and Mediterranean shrubs — a site of extraordinary beauty and aromatic influence. The blend is 40% Tempranillo, 40% Graciano, and 20% Viura — a field blend that reflects the traditional planting patterns of old Rioja, where red and white varieties were co-planted for freshness and complexity. The vines face west on calcareous soils, producing a wine that is very aromatic, with herbal notes of lavender and rosemary, and good energy on the palate. Fermented in concrete or open oak, aged in French oak barrels. A gastronomic wine with excellent ageing potential — structured, savory, and unmistakably Elvillar. ~13–14% ABV. ~2,200 bottles. €54.
Phinca El Vedao
Red — Single Vineyard — Elvillar, Rioja AlavesaA 100% Garnacha from the lieu-dit of the same name in Elvillar — a vineyard that David has nurtured with particular care. Fermented in concrete tanks and aged in 500-litre French oak barrels for 30 months. The result is a wine that is aromatic and balsamic, savory with herbaceous notes — red berried fruit, delicate floral touches, vibrant acidity, and a subtle chalky texture from the limestone soils. A wine that proves Garnacha is not merely a blending grape in Rioja but a variety capable of extraordinary expression when farmed biodynamically on the right soils. In 2020, David and Melanie acquired more land in the El Vedao region and rebuilt the terraces to plant additional Garnacha — a long-term investment in a variety they believe is essential to Rioja's future. ~13% ABV. ~2,300 bottles. €23.
Phinca Hapa Blanco — by Melanie Hickman
Orange / Skin-Contact — Elvillar, Rioja AlavesaThe wine that started with a dog named Hapa and ended with a vineyard bought with a pension fund. Made from 82% Viura, 12% Garnacha Blanca, and 6% Malvasía — the grapes from the vineyard that Melanie fell in love with on a walk through the hills of Elvillar. The grapes ferment with their skins in a 2,000-litre concrete vat for over two months — an extended maceration that extracts color, tannin, and extraordinary complexity. The wine is then pressed and placed in 600-litre French foudres for one year. The result is a skin-contact white of remarkable depth and originality — mandarin hue, subtle tannins, crisp white stone fruits, and a saline, mineral finish that speaks of the limestone soils and the biodynamic care. A wine that is, as Melanie intended, deeply personal — a bottle that tells the story of a dog, a vineyard, and a woman who cashed her retirement to make something she believed in. ~12–13% ABV. ~2,300 bottles.
Phinca Hapa Tinto — by Melanie Hickman
Red — Single Vineyard — Elvillar, Rioja AlavesaThe red counterpart to the Hapa Blanco — made from the other half of Melanie's vineyard, planted to red varieties. A blend of Tempranillo and Graciano, farmed biodynamically, hand-harvested, and made with the same minimal-intervention philosophy that defines the entire Bhilar project. The wine is expressive, vibrant, and deeply personal — a red that carries Melanie's story in its tannins: the risk, the intuition, the American in a Basque village who decided that her future was not in a pension fund but in a vineyard. Production varies by vintage. In 2016, 7,332 bottles were produced. The wine is shared with the world as part of the Struggling Vines label — a name that refers both to the vines that struggle to produce on difficult soils, and to the struggle of two people from different worlds who built a life and a winery together. ~13% ABV. Vintage-variable.
Phinca San Julián — by Melanie Hickman
Red — Single Vineyard — Elvillar, Rioja AlavesaSourced from the San Julián vineyard — a beautiful old half-hectare east-facing plot that can only be farmed with animals due to its steepness and isolation. The wine is fermented with stems in 500-litre barrels, then transferred to 225-litre barrels for ageing. The result is a wine of very pure fruit with refined, elegant notes — a return to a more classic Rioja style, but filtered through the biodynamic, minimal-intervention lens of Bhilar. It is a wine that speaks of seclusion and patience — a vineyard so hidden that if you don't know where to look, you will never find it. Pure limestone soils, east-facing orientation, and the kind of cool freshness that only comes from a site that the modern world has forgotten. ~13% ABV. ~1,300 bottles. €55.
David Sampedro Gil — Regional Projects
Variable — Sierra de Francia, Navarra, Rías Baixas, GermanyDavid's curiosity and his conviction that great wine comes from great vineyards have led him beyond Rioja to work in five separate wine regions throughout Spain and Germany. In Sierra de Francia (Salamanca), on granite and slate soils, he makes Phinca Encanto (100% Rufete, an elegant, mineral red reminiscent of Pinot Noir) and Phinca Durmiente (100% Rufete Blanca, also known as Verdejo Serrano — a rare, scattered variety that requires considerable selection effort). In Navarra, he makes Pasolasmonjas (old-vine Garnacha from slopes and ravines discovered while helping Australian winemaker Dan Standish) and Kha Mé (old-vine Garnacha from San Martín de Unx, vinified in amphorae). In Rías Baixas, he makes Shanela (a saline, mineral Albariño aged on lees for 16 months, from Val do Salnés) and Costa de Santa Mariña (Albariño). And in Germany, he has an ongoing project that continues to evolve. These are not side hustles. They are expressions of the same philosophy — that the vineyard speaks, and the winemaker's job is to listen, regardless of the region.
Etérea Kripan — by Melanie Hickman
White / Red — Kripan, Rioja AlavesaMelanie's newest project — a brand that reflects her growing independence as a winemaker and her commitment to responsible land management. Carrakripan is a white blend of mostly Viura plus Malvasía and Garnacha Blanca, fermented with skins from a 50+ year old vineyard at over 600 metres in Kripan — complex, fresh, and saline, and the first Demeter-certified wine in Rioja Alavesa. Sasikume is a new wine from a vineyard planted with Maturana Tinta (also known as Bastardo — the meaning of Sasikume in Basque), producing a savory, fruity red aged partially on skins. And Melanie has recently acquired a 3.4-hectare plot at 900 metres elevation in Kripan where she aims to create an oasis of biodiversity with lavender, fruit trees, holm oaks, and, in the near future, vineyards. These are wines that carry Melanie's voice — American, intuitive, fearless — into the Basque countryside.
Legacy — Demeter, the Grower of the Year & the Wine That Must Have Soul
Bodegas Bhilar matters because it has proven that the most radical thing a winemaker can do is to care — to care for the soil, for the vines, for the animals, for the community, and for the drinker. In a region that has been dominated for decades by industrial scale, by standardized taste, and by the homogenizing power of large corporations, David and Melanie have created a model for Rioja that is closer to monastic devotion than to agribusiness — 16 hectares, no tractors, no stainless steel, no electricity grid, and a Demeter certification that validates not merely a farming method but a way of life.
Their legacy is agricultural. By converting to organic farming in 1999 — when almost no one in Rioja was talking about it — by following biodynamic principles that earned David the nickname "the village's worst vine grower," by eliminating tractors in 2014 and returning to horses, by planting over 2,000 native plants and trees, by maintaining yields of 3,000–3,500 kg/ha when the appellation allows 6,500, and by building a winery that is off-grid, partially underground, and powered by the sun and the wind, they have created a farm that is not merely sustainable but regenerative — a place that is healthier now than when David's grandfather planted the first vines in the 1920s. In 2020, Tim Atkin named David "Grower of the Year." In 2012, Wine Spectator listed him as one of "Six Producers Leading the Way" in Rioja. These are not vanity titles. They are recognitions of a practice that has changed the conversation about what Rioja can be.
Their legacy is oenological. The Phinca Lali — from a 1910 vineyard, 90% Tempranillo, 10% Viura, 36 months in oak, less than 1,000 bottles — is a wine that has been described as "one of the best orange wines I have ever tasted" (in its white form) and as a red of "intense depth, firm tannins, and extraordinary ageing potential" — a wine that scores in the mid-nineties with most critics. The Phincas Thousand Mils — a skin-contact blend of Viura, Garnacha Blanca, and Malvasía — is a wine that challenges every assumption about white Rioja. The Bhilar Tinto — 25,000 bottles of village-level wine that consistently over-delivers — has become a benchmark for accessible, terroir-driven Rioja. And Melanie's Phinca Hapa — born from a dog, a pension fund, and a vineyard that she refused to stop calling hers — is a wine that proves that the best wines are not made by credentials but by conviction.
And their legacy is philosophical. David and Melanie's conviction — that wine must have soul, that it must be shared with good people and positive energy, that the land must be left in a better state than it was found, that indigenous grapes are the only grapes worth growing, and that the best way to understand a vineyard is to walk it with a horse — has resonated with a wine culture that is increasingly suspicious of industrial scale and increasingly hungry for connection. Their wines are not for everyone. They do not try to be. They are for those who understand that the best way to honor a 100-year-old vine is to let it speak — and to get out of the way.
From the bar in Madrid where an American from Ohio met a Basque vine grower, to the vineyard that a woman bought with her retirement savings, to the dog whose name graces one of the most original wines in Spain, from the 1920s plantings of David's grandfather to the 2016 off-grid winery, from the "worst vine grower in the village" to the Grower of the Year, Bodegas Bhilar is a testament to what happens when two people decide that the most important ingredient in wine is not technology, not oak, not marketing, but care — care for the soil, care for the vine, care for the animal, care for the drinker. The horse has ploughed. The concrete has fermented. And the wine, against all the skepticism of the village, is magnificent.