Finca La Tejería, in the foothills of Sierra Cantabria

The search for gifted terroirs led us at Palacios Vinos de Finca to the foothills of Sierra Cantabria. The objective: to find unique plots of land to make singular wines. In this case of the Tempranillo variety; a variety for which we were mainly looking for sandy-loamy soils with a lot of lime.

At Palacios Vinos de Finca we place the territory at the centre of our wine project and, in Elvillar, we have found a plot for the future of what is Proelio.

As its name says, Proelio, Latin for battle, is made up of small pieces of land that remain standing in their struggle against extinction. From them are born living, expressive and long-lived wines. Little explored territories, but gifted, like this Finca La Tejería, named after the place where it is located.

With this discovery we have achieved altitude, so that our vines benefit from the thermal contrast between day and night, and soils of calcareous origin, with a considerable limestone component of degraded calcareous silt. The vine needs a minimum of humidity to be able to grow, which is currently becoming more complex due to the increasingly dry winters and early heat.

In this plot we have carried out a somewhat unusual plantation, because we are working on a type of soil whose origin is tertiary with a lot of degraded bedrock. The upper layer is mainly sandstone and in the lower layer there is a large amount of calcium carbonate.

All this information was obtained after a thorough observation, analysis and scanning work that we have carried out in order to know the soil in depth and, based on this, to know exactly what types of wines we can obtain from it and which plants will adapt best to it. This is undoubtedly a key aspect of our commitment to precision viticulture.

To a large extent, the soil provides us with information that will give our wines their own personality. Inimitable wines, different from any other. But always wines with soul, wines that speak of Rioja.

Working with five different roots

Thanks to the in-depth knowledge we have of the soil, we are working on the same plot with five different roots and, within these roots, there is a diversity of clones. We are also working with two masales of Tempranillo de Rioja.

A real treasure at the foot of Sierra Cantabria, cultivated with great respect and with a different type of management, although without forgetting what we do, that is, regenerative agriculture with plant cover, which will become a reality when the vines are four or five years old, and which avoids eroding the terroir.

An amphitheatre overlooking Laguardia

A privileged landscape that we will share with all of you, thanks to the amphitheatre we are preparing overlooking Laguardia. A location so that everyone can enjoy a unique spot and observe, first hand, what we do and how our commitment and continuous work to identify these micro-terroirs of quality, where the land sets the tone in all our work.

Nature rules; the land sets the course. Everything else comes from it, achieving the necessary balance between plant, climate, soil and water, which is crucial for making our wines with their own personality and attachment to the land. Hence our constant concern to protect the soil. Our daily work is based on its natural conservation and sustainability. It is part of our philosophy; of our identity. An identity that also makes us a restless winery. That is why we will continue to search for new exceptional terroirs.