The region of the Arlanza has a slightly cooler climate to that of other bordering regions, which translates into a greater danger of late frost and a somewhat delayed ripening of the grape. Factor that is being dissipated by the climatic change produced in the last years, getting quality grapes with an optimum maturation.

 

The rediscovery of the quality of the grapes has revived the vineyard that for so long treasured this land, in our case, where we have the plots went from having 589 hectares of vineyard in 1888 to 31 in 2005, as it appears in the vineyard records of The Junta de Castilla y León.

 

We are in a land where the wine has a proper name. The vineyard distributed by the center and south of the region puts order and adds harmony in this characteristic landscape. The vineyards dot this territory, appearing next to forests of encinas, farms of cereal or fluvial courses. The fertile vegas of the rivers have been the ideal substratum for the cultivation of the vine. Along with agriculture and grazing, winemaking activity has for centuries been a way of life and one of the main sources of income for the inhabitants of the area. The main testimonies of this millenary activity in the area, are verified with the numerous vineyards or the neighborhoods of warehouses that penetrate in the subsoil and that will find in the majority of the towns.

 

The winemaking tradition in the region dates back to the tenth century, proof of this are the historical accounts of the existence of vineyards in the hands of the monasteries. Cultural legacy and wine preserved to this day. In the 12th century, the monastery of Santa María de Bujedo de Juarros acquired vineyards in the Ribera del Arlanza for supply.

Specifically Avellanosa de Muñó, settled on the left bank of the Arlanza river and ascending to the moors of the Ribera del Duero River, is an ancient village, already mentioned in 1030. In it are distinguished two districts of Santo Domingo de Silos and the Duke of Lerma. The silense district that depended on the monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos belonged to the alfoz of Muñó and the one of the Duke to alfoz de Lerma. (We find another case similar to this in the province of Burgos, Temiño, also divided into two neighborhoods, the one belonging to Burgos and the other to Briviesca.) In 1591, we found this town with a census of 400 neighbors. In 1843 a census of 79 inhabitants is attributed to him, place with a little school to which they attend twelve children. In 1950, it had 200 inhabitants.

Among the monuments and sites of interest in the town of Avellanosa de Muñó is the church dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption dating from the 18th century, the caves of Pago in the same town, as well as the medieval tower of Torrecitores and the Church Gothic with Romanesque cover of Paúles del Agua (2 of its 3 districts).

Next to Avellanosa is the village of Tordomar, where the Chapel of the Carrillo Lineage (13th century) is located, depending on it, the town of Ruyales del Agua. Its main symbol is the Roman bridge over the Arlanza River, built by the Emperor Trajan at the beginning of our era. The bridge belonged to a road that linked Clunia with Cantabria, Segovia and Astorga in search of Via Aquitaine very close to the French capital of Bordeaux.

 

The second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century are marked by great convulsions in the wine market, and as a consequence in large variations in the area of vineyard cultivation.

 

1. The origin of these is the appearance of pests and diseases hitherto unknown, such as the phylloxera that forced almost all of the existing vineyard, and specified the replanting of vineyards with American feet.

2. It went from a subsistence agriculture or self-consumption, to an activity based on profitability, in which the lack of some food forced its rationing and this stimulated its production. Improved communication routes increased trade and agriculture became an economic activity based on profitability, so farmers turned to crops that made this greater (cereal), eliminating those less productive (vineyard).

Land consolidation changed the face of many fields, eliminating not only the woodland growing on the slopes of small farms or streams, but it was a relentless enemy of vineyard cultivation. Being the region of the Arlanza pioneer in the land division. When the field began to be mechanized the farms resulting from the concentration made easy the tillage of the same ones, but the vineyard demanded manual tasks that the tractor did not realize, like the pruning, the vintage ... To work the vineyard was complicated.

Likewise, when in 1986 the entrance in the EEC takes place, the surface of vineyard in the region is very small. The EEC was immersed in conflicts in the wine sector and it was feared that the entry of Spain and Portugal would aggravate the situation, so that the regulations were amended to the community wine regulation to protect against the possibility of expansion of the area of ​​Spanish vineyard . (Policy restricting the increase of vineyard area)

3. Emigration. Strong rural exodus. All of the above factors were enough to discourage vine growing. To make matters worse, one further aggravated the situation: emigration. The vineyard needed manpower that began to become scarce, from the first moment emigration began. The vineyard did not center its presence on the land.

4. Lack of cooperatives. Cooperative wineries could have alleviated the abandonment that occurred, as happened in other areas.

We define ourselves as authentic vignerons (Vigneron: Agriculturist who, in turn, is an Artisan with an artistic talent.) (Definition of the Italian Lucca Gargano), with a family tradition inherited from generation to generation. Through established recipes.

 

Our cultural practices are aimed at promoting and maintaining biodiversity, working carefully on the lands on which our strains are based. We understand viticulture and care for the vineyard as one more organism in our rich ecosystem. It is our way of protecting and enriching the origin of our wine.

 

Every great wine has a concrete, precise origin, a truly special place to be born.

 

Our vineyards, of tempranillo variety (fine ink), are located in the border area of the north of the Ribera del Duero. Thanks to families who have preserved their vineyard plots against the possibility of transforming them into large tracts for the cultivation of cereal.

 

The continental climate with great thermal oscillations that we have attached to the altitude in which we are near the 1000m, makes that our grapes possess a unique characteristics. Without forgetting that the soil is the origin of the wine and that the different types of "terroir" that we have as well as its qualities leave a marked mark on the grapes that make our wines possible.

 

The orography is another of the singularities of this zone that influences how the climatic conditions of each vintage affect the vineyard. The 9 hectares of vineyard of Bodegas Carrillo de Albornoz, are located in the Ruyales del Agua and Avellanosa de Muñó, between 880 and 935m altitude, constituting the best site for the vineyard, due to its good capacity to retain the scarce Humidity of the soil and its lower risk of suffering the feared frosts.

 

Another unique characteristic of our soils is the great heterogeneity of materials that compose it. In a single plot, it is easy to distinguish three or four different soils: areas with predominance of limestone, sandy tongues, soils of grayish tones or more reddish soils. This diversity of materials is reflected in the characteristics of the grapes, making the whole a unique wine and high expression.

 

Each type of soil gives us a unique hue in the wine:

 

- sand-free zones which provide aromas and brilliance,

 

- stony areas (les gallets) that provide delicacy, finesse and bouquet.

 

- clay areas that bring body and greater tannic concentration to our wines.

 

• Traditionals.

 

In Avellanosa, as evidence of the winemaking tradition of the area, several wineries are located, where the pressing was carried out in a large winery in which all the grapes were unloaded without being destemmed and allowed to ferment. These mills, dating from the nineteenth century, were owned by several neighbors, these being divided according to the loads and arrobas that each one disposed. Once pressed the grape was transferred to the underground cellars of each neighbor, where the wine was stored for later consumption. By doing the malolactic fermentation.

 

While the oldest mills had a beam and a wooden spindle in the most modern the spindle was made of metal and the way to exert force on the hammer (of juniper wood) is very different

 

Just a few years ago, we made the wine in these wineries in a traditional way to recall the grape harvest. We currently use them in a tourist and recreational way.

 

• Current facilities.

 

The Bodega, built with a careful architecture of the area in which it is installed, is equipped with the latest technology. It demonstrates the commitment made to the environment, through the installation of solar panels and the domotization of the building. We control at all times and from any place with a Smartphone not only the processes of elaboration and wine aging, but the air conditioning of the same.

 

We elaborate in a traditional way but using technologies that allow our wines to be more aromatic, stable in time, with character and personality. We have stainless steel tanks (resistant, inert material and easy to clean) with temperature control devices and water jackets not only to verify the temperature, but also to control and stabilize it at all times.

 

Likewise and during the execution of the same underground cellars have been integrated in which in the medium term the most exclusive wine of our menu, from the centennial strains of the Valdelhorno plot will be elaborated.