OUR WINERY
Get immersed in our wines.
This Single Vineyard Appelation of Origin is only granted to wineries that produce wines from their own grapes exclusively and whose special characteristics make them absolutely different and recognizable among other wines, even among those produced in the same geographical region.
Once all the requirements have been fulfilled, the wineries declared Vino de Pago, that is, deserving to hold their own Apellation of Origin, have in their CV the largest possible number of quality and origin certifications existing in the European wine scene and consequently offer the highest possible level of trust and reliability to the most demanding end consumers. For this reason, Appelations of Origin system is usually represented in a pyramidal scheme, in which the base are the table wines, that integrate very large production volumes, followed by Wines with Protected Geographical Indications (IGP), Apellations of Origin (DO), Qualified Apellations of Origin (DOC), and finally, at the top of the pyramid, the Vinos de Pago (VP), also known as Grands Crus Classés in France.
In March 2021, only 20 Spanish wineries , out of a panorama of almost 5,000 throughout Spain, had been honoured with this appellation of Vino de Pago, less than 0.4% of the total number of wineries are located in the top of the Apellations of Origin pyramid in Spain.
Pago los Cerrillos DOP
Under the strictest ISO 9001 standard rules, our wines have been declared VINOS DE PAGO DOP in 2019. This is the recognition of a very well done job over the years that results from the implementation of the highest quality standards for the production of wines existing in the European Union.
The Vineyards.
Forty hectares of vineyards of the Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Syrah varietals, planted more than 40 years ago at an altitude of almost 700 meters, crossed from end to end by Guadiana River, are the basic support of all the wines of our winery. During the vegetative period, highly influenced by very cold winters and warm summers, green harvest is carried out to limit the vineyards yield to between 7.500 and 10.000 kilos / hectare, depending on the vineyard and wine to produce, and thus harvest later much higher quality fruit. The vineyards are located in a cool area, next to the Peñarroya reservoir and surrounded by hills that favour the phenolic maturity of the grapes by delaying the harvest date compared to the average for the region. All our varieties ripen slowly and with balance, like slow cooking.
A high probability of late frosts in spring time has made it necessary to install systems that minimize their possible damage and that, in addition, during harvest time, allow controlling the morning dew, favouring the drying of the vines before harvesting.
Hard limestone, marl and clay soils are an important part of the terroir, and the slow maturation of varieties like Petit Verdot, allow us to obtain wines with a characteristic mineralization and very well coloured that perfectly represent our Pago.
In order to obtain the maximum aromatic and colour intensity, a low temperature pre-fermentation maceration is carried out during 4 to 5 days.
Alcoholic fermentation is conducted at 26 – 28ºC with native yeasts, and lasts for 30 days together with a skins maceration, with daily pump-overs and delestages in the initial phase that allow optimizing the extraction of colours, aromas and structure from all our varietals.
The free run wine obtained, without pressing, is taken directly to French oak barrels to undergo a malolactic fermentation and remains for a period of 3 to 24 months ageing in French and American oak barrels.
All the wines are naturally clarified based on rackings and without any filtration.
In some cases, for some of the wines, not even cold stabilization procedures are followed.
Winemaking
The grapes are harvested at dawn and at their exact point of maturation, by hand and mechanically according to each vineyard and according to the wines to be made. They are transported very quickly to the winery in small plastic cases of no more than 15Kg each.
Facilities
The winery dates back to the late 19th century and has been restored and refurbished in year 2000, adapting the latest and most innovative technologies, blending perfectly tradition and modernity as well as techniques from Bordeaux and from Castilla-La Mancha. The winery uses stainless temperature controlled steel tanks, and a set of four traditional concrete tanks, an ageing room with more than 600 French and American oak barrels in which rest our best wines and several storage warehouses.
The centre of the finished product warehouse is a state-of-the-art bottling/labeling line followed by the loading docks, from where all our wines all shipped worldwide.
