Los Cerrillos

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The Guadiana river crosses the delimited area, situated beside the Peñarroya reservoir at an altitude of 695 metres and surrounded by hills that delay the vegetative cycle.
• The soil is fundamentally calcareous, with marl (an unconsolidated mixture of clay and limestone) being the most important rock type, a loamy texture, and a pH of around 8.
• The climate is Mediterranean with a continental influence, with warm summers and cold winters, temperature swings that can reach 45 °C, clear skies 80% of the year, and more than 2,500 hours of sunshine annually.
• The proximity of the Guadiana river means that rainfall is considerably higher than in the rest of the La Mancha territory and that temperatures are not as extreme as in the surrounding southern and western areas, resulting in a harvest delayed by fifteen to twenty days.
• The climate is prone to late spring frosts, which has made it necessary to install frost-protection systems using inversion fans — among the few installed in the country and the only ones in Castilla-La Mancha.

• The grapes are not pressed but instead undergo static draining to obtain free-run wines, with extraction rates of between 62% and 68%.
• Throughout the entire alcoholic fermentation, the rack-and-return (délestage) technique is applied, and the wines are clarified naturally by racking.

• It is a red wine of purple or deep cherry colour, with violet or garnet-to-tile-red rim tones.
• On the nose, fruit dominates with floral fragrances or ripe fruit with touches of liquorice and balsamic notes; on the palate it is approachable, fresh, and well-structured, with creamy nuances from ageing.

• The vineyard is surrounded by hills that make it a cool zone, favouring photosynthesis, berry composition, and sugar accumulation, while reducing pH and increasing acidity and phenolic compounds, up to 80 milliequivalents per litre.

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)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-ES-02228
• Official trade body site — Bodegas Montalvo Wilmot — DOP Pago Los Cerrillos