The Palacio de Bornos Estate

The winery was founded and began elaborating wine in 1870 in the town of La Seca, alongside the Appelation of Origin Rueda. In the late nineteenth century, its wines were well known throughout Castilla, expanding both nationally and internationally during the twentieth century.

In 1976, the fifth generation of the Sanz family broke away from the family tradition and started their own project with the construction of a new winery in the town of Rueda, thus beginning the most recent history of Palacio de Bornos. After more than thirty years of solid work, Palacio de Bornos has become one of the most widely renowned brands in the Appelation of Origin Rueda, and is present in the major markets worldwide.

Appelation of Origin Rueda is located in Castilla y Leon and is made up of 72 municipalities, which are located in the south of the province of Valladolid, west of Segovia and north of Ávila.

The character of the appellation is defined by three elements that result in high quality differentiated wines, with a strong personality:

- Grape Variety: Verdejo, indigenous to the area, resulting in crisp, pleasant and highly harmonious wines that invite you to continue drinking.

- Climate: continental with low rainfall, marked temperature contrasts between day and night and spring frosts, providing low yields and high quality.

- Soils: gravelly, permitting great ventilation and drainage.

The permitted grape varieties are: Verdejo, Sauvignon Blanc, Viura, Palomino Fino, Tempranillo, Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot

The Palacio de Bornos Vineyards

Palacio de Bornos boasts 220 hectares of their own vineyards, in the towns of Rueda, Pollos and La Seca.

When choosing a plot, the quality of the soil always takes precedence, with several analysis and soil samples being carried out to ascertain in detail its structure, thus ensuring that the vine will develop in the most appropriate soil. The soil of our vineyards is characterized by a calcareous clay subsoil and gravelly top soil, with a high concentration of boulders, allowing for good aeration and drainage, ideal characteristics for the successful development of the vine.

The special commitment to the vineyard have led Palacios Bornos to develop continuous research projects - mainly in the field of clonal selection, vine spacing, rootstock and foliar nutrition - through studies at experimental estates. The results, once positively tried and tested, are applied to the entire vineyard.

The aim has always been to plant the best vines in the best soil, in order to obtain the best wines.

The Burgo Viejo Estate

Six families of farmers founded Bodegas Burgo Viejo in 1987 (with the next generation coming onboard, it is now sixteen families working together). Burgo Viejo´s main asset has always been the exquisite winemaking process of grapes collected from its own vineyards throughout the years, back to the times when they were just a wine cellar selling in bulk (they started as a cooperative in the 1950’s). Burgo Viejo wines are exported to Japan, China, Denmark, UK, Belgium and the U.S. (export markets represent 5-10% of the production). Young Gorka Etxebarria is the leading winemaker and has been working with Burgo Viejo since December 2003.

The Burgo Viejo Vineyards

The vineyards measure 200 hectares – 494 acres – (90% tinto, 5% rosado, 5% blanco) and spread throughout the municipality of Alfaro, La Rioja, Spain at the foothills of Yerga Mountain, on the banks of the fertile Ebro Valley. This area offers a huge diversity of soils and microclimates where the grape varietals, Tempranillo, Mazuelo, Garnacha, Carignan, Graciano and Viura grow to become Burgo Viejo wines.

Most of the vines are 30 years old. Some Garnacha are over 90 years old and some young organic Graciano have been planted. The types of oak used are 90% American and 10% French.