The Vines
The vineyard of the Valquejigoso estate is located at the entry of the domaine, in its eastern most part. Plantings, which began in 1997, have been extended over the years and will come to an end in a near future.
Map with estate and vineyards profiles
Map of the plots of Valquejigoso vineyards
The final objective consists in completing a total vineyard surface of 55 ha, all with red varieties. There are currently 10 different varieties planted. Today, 49 hectares are planted with 8 different grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano and Negral. An extra 1,8 hectares are physically separated from the main vineyard with 3 different white varieties (Sauvignon Blanc, Albillo Real and Moscatel).
Valquejigoso's Mesoclimate
Within a context of continental climate, Valquejigoso has its own meso- climatic conditions, which are different from the ones of its nearest surroundings.
The extreme temperatures in summer and winter are accompanied by a limited rainfall. Due both to this last fact and to the wind that blows regularly during the period when the risk of fungal diseases is at its peak, in Valquejigoso these problems do no usually happen. At the end of summer and at night, temperatures are below average, which allows a marked temperature shift between day and night and an optimal ripening of the grapes.
Total rainfall in an average year in Valquehigoso are between 300 and 350 mm, which is pretty low compared to other neighboring areas. Valquejigoso vineyard is located at an altitude which varies between 610 meters at its highest and 560 meters at its lowest.
The Soil
The soil of Valquejigoso comes from the same time period as the one of the Sierra de Gredos.
The erosion of the granitic rock of the latter is the base of the soils in Valquejigoso.
Work in the Vineyard
En Valquejigoso somos conscientes de que el carácter de nuestros vinos procede principalmente del viñedo, por ello todo que hacemos en la viña lo hacemos de forma muy personalizada para cada una de las parcelas y de un modo muy respetuoso con la flora y fauna de cada rincón de nuestra viña.
Winter pruning
It is done manually, without using any pre-pruning machine and following the rhythm of each variety, in order to prune each grape varietal in the optimal moment. After the winter pruning, the vine shoots are tied to the trellis wires.
Fertilization of the soil
After the end of the pruning, all remaining woods are moved away and grinded up in order to easy and speed up their immediate inclusion in the soil, bringing structure and nutrients. In those plots where over time vegetable growth is decreasing, organic matter is added under the form of manure coming from neighboring cattle farms. In all cases, chemical fertilizers are avoided. The main objective remains achieving a balance between flora and fauna of insects and micro-organisms so that a sustainable environment of great biodiversity is available. That way, the environment itself will provide in a natural way all the nutrients that the vine needs to develop the desired fruit.
Work in the vineyard
In Valquejigoso, all work in the vineyard is carefully thought after and its accomplishment takes into account many different parameters. Depending on the plot, it is likley that the vegetal cover of indigenous flora might be maintained to avoid erosion or to limit the vine vigor. Certain plots are also plowed to get the reverse effect. Every other year the rows to plow can also alternate.
Green pruning
After budbreak, green pruning takes place. All buds which are not well located are eliminated so that only remain on the plant the buds that will bear fruit and the future leaves of the plants.
Canopy management
After green pruning, vine shoot management is the next issue to work on. Using the moving wires of the trellis, canes are managed so that they provide shadow to those grapes exposed to the afternoon sun avoiding that, when temperatures are above 32ºC, certain metabolisms of the plant end up being blocked. If that happened, certain substances, closely linked to the aromatic and tannic potential of the wines, could be lessened.
Green harvesting
When véraison comes, bunch thinning takes place. All bunches that continue to be exposed to the afternoon sun, stemming from a late flowering and too tight, are removed. In brief, all bunches that can lower the quality of the final wine are eliminated. The objective is to leave the best bunches and get an even distribution of the latter in the plant, looking for the best balance and thus the best ripening of the grapes.
Treatments
In Valquejigoso vineyards, privileged mesoclimatic conditions make that fungal diseases, mite and insect control is much easier. Pre-emptive treatments using sulfur and Bordeaux mix are able to control the most serious plagues. In case a particular vintage sees all natural conditions to make plagues a real issue, the same criterion is maintained: treatments remain pre-emptive ones, the only difference being they are made more often.
Irrigation
Our farming philosophy consists in a total respect of the vineyard environment. In order to get the vintage character from each plot in the wine, it is necessary to support the vineyard with irrigation in the last phase of the growth of the green organs of the plant and in the ripening phase of the grapes. To control irrigation and because the vineyards are on slopes, two weather stations, dendrometry equipment at different depths, pressure monitors to control water supply, vine growing cycle maps covering the whole vineyards and many other tools are used. They allow us to make precise viticulture and supply the exact water required at the right moment. Valquejigoso uses deficit irrigation techniques, bringing enough water to the plant to avoid stopping the physiological development of the vine. That way, all aromas and flavors linked to the specific terroir of Valquejigoso are generated.
Maintenance
All year round, different maintenance tasks are carried out in the vineyards. Trellising wires and damaged or rotten wooden posts have to be partially replaced every year, as well as drips and nails. Vines die for several reasons and have to be replaced, holm oaks have to be pruned, roads have to be repaired as well as some pipes, irrigation valves, drains, and others, ...
The Harvest
In order to determine the ideal moment of harvest, besides all analytical parameters available, selected berries are tasted in order to make a follow up of the ripening of the grapes and determine the optimal ripeness for harvest.
Harvest in Valquejigoso lasts more than in other wineries, due to the fact that we manage different grape varieties, aspects and soil types. For that reason, it is probably one of the longest harvests in Spain.
Grapes are hand harvested using pruners and plastic crates (containing a maximum of 12 kilograms) to easy transport and avoid having crushed grapes.
