We are dedicating the last comments of this space to try to explain the concept of ‘terroir’, of terroir, which in Familia Martínez Bujanda we integrate in our essence as the identity of our wineries and our vineyards.
Finca Valpiedra (link to previous post) is our heart: we are a family from La Rioja and it is the main hallmark of our project, but since 2008 we have been strongly committed to the Rueda Denomination of Origin for the production of quality whites with Finca Montepedroso.
Many wineries in the last two decades have ‘disembarked’ in Rueda in response to the remarkable growth in world consumption of white wines, and the growth of the appellation has been exponential. In recent times, there has been a proliferation of so-called “by/for” bottlings, which consist of agreements between important commercial groups, from distribution chains to winery companies, with wineries or cooperatives in the area to place large quantities of wine on the market, taking advantage of the pull of the collective brand.
Familia Martínez Bujanda responds to another concept. We acquired a 25-hectare estate in the municipality of Rueda and built a state-of-the-art winery, with gravity harvesting and the best equipment to work in cold conditions in an extreme area for cultivation, with extraordinary thermal amplitudes between winter and summer and also between night and day.
Continental climate, therefore, gravelly soils, typical of the area, plus a variety with its own identity, Verdejo, confirm the ‘terroir’ of our Finca Montepedroso. As we saw in previous posts, cultural practices are the fourth fundamental factor in shaping the identity of our wines and, in this case, our technical director, Lauren Rosillo, has extensive experience in the production of whites in wineries in New Zealand and South Africa, where they have probably best understood this type of wine.
In this sense, contrary to what many people commonly think, it is more complicated to produce white wines than red wines. In the field, vegetation management, especially in an extreme climate such as that of the municipality of Rueda, at an altitude of 750 meters above sea level and with daytime temperatures of 40 degrees in summer, is key to ensuring that the plant endures the entire cycle.
The grapes are harvested at night so that the grapes enter the winery fresh, as the temperature is essential to bring out the aromatic potential of the Verdejo grape.
Our Finca Montepedroso, a consistent, aromatic wine, in the line of the original wheels, respecting even the rusticity of the Verdejo variety, is the result of Familia Martínez Bujanda’s estate concept.
Of course, we recommend it and, as with all our wines, what the consumer can be sure of is that it is made with all the means at our disposal, with the desire to respect the identity and personality of our terroir and with the limitations, for better or for worse, that nature itself and the meteorological vintages offer us.
Photo:
Roberto Steinbrüggen
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