Viñedos de Páganos

Viñedos de Páganos began in 1998, in Páganos (Laguardia), in Rioja Alavesa. It is one of the six projects of the Eguren family, who have worked vines since 1870, alongside Sierra Cantabria, Viñedos Sierra Cantabria, Señorío de San Vicente, Teso la Monja and Dominio de Eguren.

The winery is dug beneath the vineyard itself: underground cellars carved into the rock, where the wine is aged.

Everything comes from two Tempranillo vineyards planted in 1975. El Puntido covers 25 trellised hectares at 600 metres, on soil that is clay-loam in texture and clay-limestone in composition, with organic fertiliser and integrated farming. La Nieta is a 1.75-hectare plot at 525 metres, of silty clay loam over sandstone bedrock.

They destem by hand, berry by berry. El Puntido is cold-macerated at 6 ºC for five days and ferments with native yeasts; La Nieta ferments in small 10-hectolitre oak vats with traditional foot-treading. Malolactic fermentation takes place in new French oak, and ageing runs 16 to 18 months.