Urbezo

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The delimited zone sits at an altitude of 460 to 495 metres above sea level, with an almost flat relief and a slight northward slope.
• Soils are classified according to the USDA Soil Survey Staff methodology into three orders — Alfisol, Inceptisol, and Entisol — with the suborders Haploxeralf, Calcixerept, and Xerofluvent.
• Soil texture is homogeneous, falling within the loam sub-triangle, with a predominance of sandy loam, sandy clay loam, and clay loam types; the zone is characterised by an abundance of surface gravel.
• Mean annual rainfall is 423.4 mm against a potential annual evapotranspiration of 1,068.5 mm, yielding a negative balance of 645.1 mm and defining an xeric moisture regime and a mesic temperature regime.
• The Cierzo wind, coming from the northwest, frequently affects the zone and helps protect the vineyards against cryptogamic diseases.

• The existence of the Villa y Lugar de Lagunas, between Cariñena and Alfamén, is documented in 1178 in the Annals of the Crown of Aragon, described as a place full of vines.
• In February 1585 King Philip II visited the Villa y Ermita de la Virgen de Lagunas, where the monks were producing their wines from grapes grown in their own vineyards.

• The red wines display an intense cherry-red colour, with a well-balanced relationship between alcohol and total acidity, condensed tannins, and a long finish that develops well with bottle ageing.
• The white wines offer a pronounced aromatic expression and good acidity, with frequent notes of green and ripe apple derived from fermentation esters.

• The surface gravel heats up during the day and cools at night owing to the Cierzo wind and short nocturnal drip irrigation; the slow ripening of the grapes, aided by significant diurnal temperature variation, leads to increased berry weight and the gradual conversion of acids into sugars.
• The gentle slope of the vineyard promotes water drainage and optimises sun exposure, which encourages the phenolic ripening of the grapes and results in the characteristic colour and body of the red wines.

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

All appellations in Spain

Sources

• National pliego de condiciones (PDF)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-ES-02585
• Official trade body site — Solar de Urbezo