MUSEUM, CIGALES REAL RESERVA

Description

Cigales, is located just north of the Ribera del Duero in north-central Spain, and is home to Finca Museum, that contains an alarming 100+ acres of old vine Tinta del Pais (Tempranillo) averaging 60 to 100+ years old.

In the midst of a search for quality vineyards in neighboring Ribera del Duero in the late 1990’s, the Grupo Baron de Ley stumbled onto the little known region of Cigales and it’s ancient vineyards laiden with stone, baked by the hot sun and planted with naturally low yielding old vine Tinto del Pais. Grupo Baron de Ley new immediately that their search was over.

Finca Museum now controls 1200 acres of vineyards in the region with nearly half of which age over 50 years-old. At average elevations of 2,300-2,600 feet the soils are well-draining alluvial with sand, poor organic earth, limestone, chalk, clay and an abundance of pebbles. The harsh and very dry continental climate has drastic day/night thermal variations, critical to developing phenolic ripeness and acidity in grape skins. These are growing conditions that produce grapes with superior balance and structure, resulting in wines of great vitality, complexity and longevity.