Dehesa del Carrizal

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The zone is situated in a north-facing hillside depression, sheltered by a hill that keeps the vineyard in shade during the early afternoon hours.
• The Carrizal stream runs through the zone, bringing moisture and fog even in summer, creating an overall set of conditions that gives the wines an almost Atlantic rather than Mediterranean character.
• The altitude of close to 800 metres above sea level produces large diurnal temperature variations, with slow ripening periods of up to 60 days between véraison and harvest in extreme years.
• The soil has a coarse texture, with areas where up to 80% of the fraction exceeds 2 mm, formed by the deposition of quartzites carried by the stream over the clay layers beneath.
• The soils are quartzitic and acidic, with a pH of between 4.7 and 6, well below the pH typical of the surrounding area.
• The vineyard, situated in the municipal district of Retuerta del Bullaque, in the province of Ciudad Real, is surrounded by Mediterranean scrubland that protects it from warm southerly winds.

• The vineyard was planted between 1987 and 1997 at a spacing of 3×2 m, equivalent to 1,666 vines per hectare, trained on a trellis system with Cordon Royat pruning. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)
• The vineyard planted in 1998 has a planting grid of 3×1.66 m, equivalent to 2,000 vines per hectare, trained on a trellis system with Smart-Dyson pruning. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

• The red wines show ripe, soft, and elegant tannins, while the whites are fresh, with an acidity higher than is typical of wines from the surrounding area.
• On the nose the wines evoke the garrigue (thyme, rosemary, heather) and show resinous and balsamic notes of pine and eucalyptus, or exotic fruit and white stone fruit in the whites.
• Both the red and white wines are suited to extended periods of bottle ageing.

• The coarse soil texture and the quartzites deposited by the stream produce high acidity, making the wines fresh, balanced, and more acidic than is typical of wines from the surrounding area, allowing them to age for extended periods in bottle.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the specification (pliego de condiciones).

All appellations in Spain

Sources

• Specification (EUR-Lex, single document)
• National pliego de condiciones (PDF) — +3 varieties added
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-ES-A0054
• Official trade body site — Dehesa del Carrizal