Finca Valpiedra

The Martínez Bujanda family, in 1994 began building a winery in a privileged vineyard owned by the family, this was to become Finca Valpiedra. Opened in 1999, it has been part of the Grandes Pagos de España Association since its inception, an exclusive and small group of wineries distributed throughout the country that, with unique vineyards and their own personality, claim the authentic terroirs of the country. Finca Valpiedra follows the classic Bordeaux style, with a single vineyard and wines made exclusively with the grapes from the estate. All of them are identified with the stony soil that characterizes the estate and which, together with its own microclimate, determines the profile of their wines.

Image of Finca Valpiedra winery and surrounding area

The Vineyard

There are fourteen plots of land located in the winery's 80 hectares of vineyards, located on one of the bends of the Ebro River.

The estate's exceptional conditions for growing vines are a consequence of its microclimate, influenced by the Sierra de Cantabria to the north and the Sierra de la Demanda to the south, as well as a very special type of soil composed of a layer of pebbles and limestone.

With a climate between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, the winters are cold and long. The summers, on the other hand, are warm and sunny during the day, stimulating the production of tannins and other polyphenols, which give the wine body, colour and longevity. At night, the breeze and cooler temperatures prevent the plant from dehydrating and, in periods of risk of frost, the proximity to the river is the best natural protector.

As for the soils, they have a sandy-loam profile with a surface covered in pebbles and a medium level of limestone.

The pebbles give the estate not only its name, Valpiedra, but also the vineyards' ability to retain the sun's heat and aid in ripening, while inhibiting the dehydration of the vines by preventing the rapid evaporation of water on hot summer days.

Pebble soil, common in large wine-growing areas of the Rhône , is not excessively common in Rioja and gives their wines an unmistakable personality, with a mineral, balsamic and structured character, but always with the elegance that characterises the production of the best Riojas and of Familia Martínez Bujanda.

Winemaking

All the grapes come from the estate. The harvest is carried out manually and in boxes, with an initial selection of bunches from the vines themselves. A second, rigorous sorting process is then carried out in the winery: before entering the winery, the grapes pass through a professional sorting table, where all those that are not in perfect condition are discarded.

Once the grapes for Finca Valpiedra and Cantos de Valpiedra have been harvested and selected, they are emptied into the hopper where they are destemmed and transferred to the fermentation tanks. The winery has 31 small tanks in which the different grape varieties from the different plots ferment separately. In this way, they only select the tanks that meet the demanding quality conditions they require to make the wines.

This winery only uses new French and American oak barrels. The wood provides, in any case, a secondary profile, as the main guarantee of the longevity and the journey of their wines.