The 2020 growing season began with a mild rainy winter followed by a warm spring during which it rained continually until the beginning of summer.

These persistently wet conditions, which produced a large amount of water for the vines, brought about an early, sudden budding of the vines and enabled the vine cycle to develop smoothly and quickly. Fortunately, in the 2020 vintage, there were no spring frosts, which would have been very dangerous given the vine cycle’s advance.

The summer weather followed the pattern of the previous vintages of the decade with very warm conditions but also with unusually rainy weather for this region, and this helped the vines to maintain a balanced growth.

The end of the growing season was not easy for growers. Heavy rain and plunging temperatures led to concerns about a possible tricky ripening process and the onset of botrytis. Instead, however, the rain helped swell the grapes to their normal size and enabled optimal yields to be reached; while the low temperatures brought about a slower and more gradual ripening of the grapes.

The final result was a great vintage in terms of both quality and quantity, as well as a long, staggered harvest. Despite the early budding, which had suggested early harvesting dates, the grapes were picked on close to normal harvesting dates.

The vinification is completely traditional, with de-stemming followed by the alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel vats.

The wine is aged at least 12 months in American oak barrels and then in bottle before being released onto the market.

SOURCE OF GRAPES: Selected from our own vineyards situated at 800 metres altitude in Roa and La Horra.
SURFACE AREA: A total of 160 hectares (395 acres).
AVERAGE AGE OF THE VINES: 30 years
SOIL-TYPE: Heterogeneous soils with high clay content and the presence of sands

Varietal: 100% Tempranillo
Alcohol: 14.5%

The year began with normal weather conditions, followed by a mild spring with the occasional frost in May which caused little damage to the vines. Generally speaking, the year was a dry one, particularly during the growing season, which had an impact on vine vegetation growth as well as the size of the bunches and berries. The temperatures during the ripening period were very favourable, with marked differences between day and night-time temperatures, so characteristic of the Ribera region and which bring about magnificent phenolic ripeness in our Tempranillo. The occasional rain shower during September caused the end of the ripening process to slow but this had no effect on the quality of the grapes. All of these factors led to a harvest that was carried out on the usual dates and to an excellent quality crop.

The vinification was done using totally traditional methods, with de-stemming followed by the alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel vats. The wine was aged 14 months in American oak barrels and in bottle until its release onto the market.

Planted in 1987, the 200 estate-owned acres of Tempranillo grown by Condado de Haza are located literally a stones-throw away from the Duero River. With a different soil type and higher elevation than its sister property in Pesquera de Duero, Condado de Haza is located in the province of Burgos, which is known for its rocky soils and cooler climate. Planted north-south in order to maximize sun exposure, production is limited to 3 kilos per vine. As respecting the Duero’s native biodiversity is of paramount importance to the Fernández family, chemicals are never used in the vineyards and all water is recycled using an on-site purifier.

Varietal: 100% Tempranillo Alcohol: 14.5%

2018 began with a typically cold Ribera del Duero winter, during which temperatures dropped to as low as 12°C below zero. This cold weather continued right through to the beginning of spring, and yet, despite the conditions, bud-break in the vines occurred within the usual dates at the end of April. After a very dry 2017, a period of wet weather occurred at the end of winter, and then it rained continually throughout the spring, so much so that 2018 went down in the region as the wettest on record. Vine vegetation growth was favoured by the mild temperatures and the water reserves in the soil, which led to considerably larger-sized berries. As a consequence of this increase in berry size, and despite higher than usual temperatures during September and October, the ripening process slowed. The harvesting stretched out until the end of October and produced an outstanding crop both in terms of quantity and quality. The absence of rainfall in the latter part of the growing season also ensured that healthy grapes were harvested. The 2018 was in fact the second largest on record, only surpassed by that of 2016.

Lying in the coldest region of the four estates, Condado de Haza is the last winery of the Familia Fernandez Rivera to begin harvest. Each of the vineyard blocks are manually harvested towards the beginning of October and are vinified separately. Alcoholic fermentation takes place between 6-10 days at an average temperature of 20-25°C. All grapes, juice and wine are moved 100% by gravity and the finished wine is aged for 18 months in American oak barrels and 6 months in the bottle before releasing to the market.

Planted in 1987, the 200 estate-owned acres of Tempranillo grown by Condado de Haza are located literally a stones-throw away from the Duero River. With a different soil type and higher elevation than its sister property in Pesquera de Duero, Condado de Haza is located in the province of Burgos, which is known for its rocky soils and cooler climate. Planted north-south in order to maximize sun exposure, production is limited to 3 kilos per vine. As respecting the Duero’s native biodiversity is of paramount importance to the Fernández family, chemicals are never used in the vineyards and all water is recycled using an on-site purifier.

100% Tempranillo Alcohol 14.5%

The year 2016 was warmer than usual. The first frost did not arrive until November and December and were considerable in this second month. We can say that the winter temperatures were higher than normal. The spring began with cooler temperatures than usual, but despite this, the budding cycle proceeded as normal. The average temperatures from June were quite high, whereas they returned to normal in august.The harvest period took place in the month of September.

Lying in the coldest region of the four estates, Condado de Haza is the last winery of the Familia Fernandez Rivera to begin harvest. Each of the vineyard blocks are manually harvested towards the beginning of October and are vinified separately. Alcoholic fermentation takes place between 6-10 days at an average temperature of 20-25°C. All grapes, juice and wine are moved 100% by gravity and the finished wine is aged for 18 months in American oak barrels and 6 months in the bottle before releasing to the market.

Planted in 1987, the 200 estate-owned acres of Tempranillo grown by Condado de Haza are located literally a stones-throw away from the Duero River. With a different soil type and higher elevation than its sister property in Pesquera de Duero, Condado de Haza is located in the province of Burgos, which is known for its rocky soils and cooler climate. Planted north-south in order to maximize sun exposure, production is limited to 3 kilos per vine. As respecting the Duero’s native biodiversity is of paramount importance to the Fernández family, chemicals are never used in the vineyards and all water is recycled using an on-site purifier.

100% Tempranillo. Alcohol 14%.

2015 was considered to be a warmer-than-normal vintage in the center of Spain. A rather mild start to winter gave way to noticeably lower temperatures by the end of the season and, interestingly, spring saw above-average temperatures during the months between April and June. The vintage was also characterized by scarce rainfall. Thankfully, the little rain that fell did so during the specific times when the cycle of the vine was most in need of water. A hot and dry summer had a positive effect on véraison and cluster maturation, which in turn gave rise to grapes of exceptional quality.

Lying in the coldest region of the four Fernández estates, Condado de Haza is the last winery of the Grupo Pesquera to begin harvest. Each of the vineyard blocks are manually harvested towards the beginning of October and are vinified separately. Alcoholic fermentation takes place between 6-10 days at an average temperature of 20-25°C. All grapes, juice and wine are moved 100% by gravity and the finished wine is aged for 18 months in fine grain, 225-and 300-liter neutral American oak barrels with a light-to-medium toast. Barrels are racked four times during the first twelve months of aging and an additional 2-3 times before bottling. With the Fernández family dedicated to natural winemaking, all wines produced by Alejandro Fernández are neither filtered nor fined before bottling. Upon completion of barrel aging, the Condado de Haza Crianza is then aged for a minimum of six months in bottle before it is released to the market.

Planted in 1987, the 200 estate-owned acres of Tempranillo grown by Alejandro Fernández at Condado de Haza are located literally a stones-throw away from the Duero River. With a different soil type and higher elevation than its sister property in Pesquera de Duero, Condado de Haza is located in the province of Burgos, which is known for its rocky soils and cooler climate. Planted north-south in order to maximize sun exposure, production is limited to 3 kilos per vine. As respecting the Duero’s native biodiversity is of paramount importance to the Fernández family, chemicals are never used in the vineyards and all water is recycled using an on-site purifier.

100% Tempranillo. Acidity 4.63 g/L. Alcohol 14.36%.