At the end of the 1990s, the Rioja Qualified Denomination of Origin (DOC) suffered a severe shortage of raw materials, which raised grape prices to a historic 425 pesetas per kilo for the 1999 harvest.
Familia Martínez Bujanda, as well as other winemaking groups in the region, decided to invest in other Spanish winegrowing areas and, in our case, we set our sights on an extraordinary 1,000-hectare estate in La Mancha,
Finca Antigua
between Cuenca and Toledo, 420 hectares of which are planted with vines.
Far from the large and regular extensions that characterize much of La Mancha’s vineyards, it was the magic of Finca Antigua that led us to make an extraordinary investment in a historic wine-growing region that is better known for its volume than for the production of quality wines.
The vineyard already existed when we arrived, and it was a real love affair: an extraordinary varietal diversity, with the best French and other local varieties, in an extreme terroir, up to almost 1,000 meters of altitude and extraordinary thermal contrasts (35 degrees in summer and 15 below zero in winter). The work of Lauren Rosillo, our technical director, with the zoning in about 60 different plots of the 420 hectares of vines, has been arduous, difficult but rewarding.
Finca Antigua is the Lauren’s great field of experimentation, of almost infinite possibilitiesThe soils of almost the entire property share the same openness, limestone character and nutritional ‘poverty’ where only crops such as vines and olives manage to settle their deep roots and withstand the harsh winter and hot summer.
The zoningThe wines were previously vinified separately, with as many wines as plots identified before deciding on the actual blends, together with the selection and choice of the different harvesting moments given the wide range of varieties we grow (tempranillo, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, petit verdot, garnacha, malbec, gewürztraminer and viura…) is the key, which illustrates our labels, and which allows us to offer a wide range of varietals with identity and unique personality.
The pirouette is made with Clavis, a wine from a single plot of four hectares (Pico Garbanzo), where the vines, a ‘potpourri’ of eight varietals with very atypical grape varieties planted 30 years ago, offer us a totally special wine, marked by clay soils that are not at all common in the area.
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