Tierra Estella

Location

Set on the western strip of Navarre, along the Way of St James, bordering the Basque Country and La Rioja. Main town: Estella.

Landscape

Crossed by the river Ega and bounded by the Sierra of Urbasa, the pronounced relief in the north gradually smooths out to the south where the vineyards are intermingled with olive and cereal plantations.

Surface area

3,006 hectares.

Main varieties grown

For red wine varieties, of particular note is the Tempranillo (almost 50% of the total), followed by Cabernet Sauvignon (20%) and, for the whites, the Chardonnay is the most prominent variety.

Soils

The zone comprises a mixture of soils, depending on relief and rock type. On the slopes of the diapirs of Estella and Lorca, the deep, heavy clay soils lie on multi-coloured marls formed during the Triassic period. On the remaining markedly undulating slopes, the soil thickness and stoniness varies, with fine or silty loam textures on alternate marl and sand layers of the continental tertiary conglomerate, some with a significant red colour. Finally, on the alluvial valley floors and on the remains of the terraces of the rivers Ega, Iranzu and Odrón, and the glacis of Montejurra, the vineyards are sited on flat, or almost flat, land with excellent drainage, deep loamy soils which frequently have abundant gravel.

Climate

With regard to the climate, Tierra Estella is located between the sub-humid zone in the north and the exceedingly dry zone to the south, with some mean annual precipitation variations of between 454 to 700 mm. The Urbasa and Andia Sierras to the north filter the influence of the Atlantic ocean, with the vineyards preferably located in the sunniest spots. In consonance with the differences in altitude and orientation, the vineyard favourable vegetation periods range between 206 days in Estella to 224 in Alloz.

Municipal districts and councils

Aberin, Allo, Arellano, Armañanzas, Arróniz, Ayegui, Barbarin, Dicastillo, Desojo, El Busto, Espronceda, Estella, Igúzquiza, Lazagurría, Los Arcos, Luquin, Mendaza, Morentin, Murieta, Oteíza de la Solana, Sansol, Torralba del Río, Torres del Río, Valle de Yerri, Villamayor de Monjardín and Villatuerta, in addition to communities of grazing land of Cogullo Alto, Cogullo Bajo, Sarmindieta and Chandivar.