Rioja

After an unusually dry autumn and winter, now is the time for traditional preventive treatments in the vineyard.

Parcel name: Montepedriza

Vines: 86 years old

Grape variety: Garnacha

Soil type: Sandy loam with a generous covering of stones

Training system: Bush vines

Vine density: 3,000 plants/Ha

Altitude: 625 metres above sea level

Parcel size: 0.92 Ha

April rainfall: Historic average: 44.03 litres/m2; 2021: 5.9 litres/m2

April temperature: Historic average: 10.15ºC; 2021: 10.5ºC

April relative humidity: 62%

The rain that never arrives

April showers as the saying goes. But so far 2021 has been a dry year, with very low rainfall in winter and spring. In autumn and winter (from the end of leaf fall in 2020), we scarcely had 100 litres of rain, while so far this spring we’ve only seen 18 litres. Despite the dry conditions budbreak has been normal, and here in Montepedriza we’re already seeing shoots of between 5-10cm.

The battle against powdery mildew

 Alongside our grower José Luis, now is the best time to apply the first sulphur treatment for powdery mildew. It’s very important to time this to coincide with the first shoots appearing, because this is when the fungus, which has spent the winter in a vegetative state as mycelium inside the vine bud, begins to develop and produce conidias which, carried by the wind, can spread the disease to all of the plant.

Tender loving care

The Garnacha from the Montepedriza parcel is very special. That’s why we look after it so well at every stage and apply sulphur very carefully using a backpack sprayer. This helps keep the use of heavy machinery in the vineyard to a minimum and avoid compacting the soil. The only vehicle allowed in our Garnacha vineyard is the tractor which we use for tilling the soil, otherwise everything else is done manually. We’re so attached to this great vineyard of ours that wherever we can we like to get personally involved.

Valdelacierva  belong to the highest category of quality of Rioja wines: “viñedo singular”.

Two of the wines of the winery are located in the Rioja Top wines where only a small number of wines can be due to the uniqueness that they have in its production and provenance.

The exclusivity of being a singular vineyard starts in the vineyard, which must have the following characteristics:

• It can comprise a single or multiple cadastral plots.
• The minimum age of the vineyard will be 35 years.
• The maximum production allowed per hectare shall be 5,000 kg/ha for red grapes and 6,922 kg/ha for white varieties and with grape processing yield – wine shall not exceed 65%.
• Cultivation practices should be geared towards sustainability and respect for the environment. It shall be a balanced vineyard of limited force, in which only a single tinor shall be accepted, except expressly authorised by the Regulatory Council. During the ripening period of the grapes, the growth of the vegetation must be completely paralyzed.
• The start of the harvest must be communicated to the C.R.
• The wine will be made with grapes exclusively from plots that constitute the “Singular Vineyard”.
• The wine will be produced and bottled by natural or legal persons with processing and bottling facilities registered on its ownership in the Designation of Origin Qualified (D.O.Ca) ‘Rioja’, which accredit by any valid legal title in right to dispose in exclusive of the production resulting from the “Singular Vineyard” for a minimum period of 10 years uninterrupted.
• The production, aging, storage and bottling within the same winery
• They must overcome compliance with the different requirements established in both the documentary control and the physical control (prior communication from the winery to the Regulatory Council, separate qualification and subsequent verification, traceability, capacity control of all their movements, etc.).
• The processed wines will be subjected to a double qualitative assessment, the initial qualification and another pre-market valuation, which in the latter case should be excellent in the organoleptic analysis carried out according to the Technical Training for Verification of the “Singular Vineyard”.
• Regard to labelling, the word “Singular Vineyard” will appear under the name registered as a trademark, with characters of size, thickness and colour equivalent to more than those used to indicate the name of the Rioja Denomination.
• The term “Singular Vineyard” will be mandatory on all labels that the bottle has been beared, or in all visual fields if it is a continuous label. It will be located immediately below the name of the “Singular Vineyard” registered as a trademark, with characters of size, thickness and color equivalent to maximum those used to indicate the name of the Rioja Denomination.
• The proprietor of the mark shall submit a declaration of commitment concerning the exclusive use of the trade mark in wines covered by the Qualified Designation of Origin
• Bottled on request in the case of wines from unique vineyards.
• The bottles will carry specific counter-labels or sealed, which will include the mention “Singular Vineyard”.