Cigales
Cigales is a small, sleepy town that is dominated by a beautiful church
Cigales is a small, sleepy town that is dominated by a beautiful church on a small, leafy square and surrounded by dry fields where crazy chimneys protrude here and there. These chimneys are air ducts for the cellars, 10 meters underground, where the temperature is constant and resin-concrete barrels are located, where the wine rests until the “bodeguero” decides that the time for bottling has arrived. The cellars are at least 100 years old and serve as entertainment and storage. Especially during the midday heat in the summer (40ºC), they are a great place to have lunch with pan castellano, chorizo, lomo, jamón serrano and the local cheese. That delicious lunch is washed down with wine, which is tapped from the barrels on the spot. In terms of quality, the wines from Cigales can be compared to the neighboring Ribera del Duero and Toro wines.
Geography and geology
The DO. The Cigales area extends from the north of Valladolid and runs through the outskirts of the city in the south to the town of Dueñas in the province of Palencia. The area has the shape of a circle, which is cut in half by the autovía N-VI. The area is part of the Central Plateau and is located at 800 m above sea level. The landscape is flat and the bottom is light brown with some limestone and many fist-large boulders that promote drainage.
Climate
Atlantic influences from neighboring Galicia are present, but the continental climate predominates. Very warm summers and cold winters with an average temperature of 12ºC. About 350 to 400 mm of rain falls, the sun shines there 2,500 hours a year.
Grapes and winemaking
Tinto del País (Tempranillo – 50% of the vineyard area) and Garnacha (30%) are grown as blue grapes. The white ones include verdejo, viura, palomino and albillo, which together account for the remaining 20%. No white wine is produced here, but the white grapes are used in the preparation of Cigales rosado. In most bodegas, the fermentation takes place in glass fiber tanks where the temperature is controlled by cooling elements. After fermentation, the wine is transferred to underground cuves, where the wine rests for a few years. Crianza wines lie in American oak barrels for a certain time.