Cortijo los Aguilares

Cortijo Los Aguilares is a young winery that has utmost respect for the terroir and the combination of tradition with the most advanced technology lie at the heart of their philosophy.

Located at 5km from the historical and monumental city of Ronda (Málaga, Andalusia), Cortijo Los Aguilares is an 800-hectare estate, with 30 dedicated to vine-growing. The surroundings are an abundance of scrublands and holm oaks which offer an ideal environment to the different grape varieties we grow: Pinot Noir, Petit Verdot, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Planted in 1999, our vineyards are certified as organic and perfectly fit in the natural landscape.

THE VINEYARDS

At more than 900 meters above sea level, the Serranía de Ronda is one of the southernmost wine regions in Europe. Our vineyards enjoy a singular environment and a unique microclimate to achieve its full potential. The grapes are all exclusively from their own harvest and are hand-picked in small boxes to guarantee the selection of only the best, allowing them to produce wines with great respect for the unique terroir where they are grown. After spending the first 24 hours in a cold room (2ºC) to minimize the use of sulfites, the grapes are fermented at low temperatures, to achieve more aromatic expression, and follow a process of “gravity-flow” winemaking, to preserve the quality of the product.

THE WINES

Cortijo Los Aguilares has made a name for itself thanks to its Petit Verdot and particularly to its award-wining Pinot Noir, which won twice the Gold Medal (2010) and the Great Gold Medal (2008) at the “Mondial du Pinot Noir” of Sierre, Switzerland – something very unusual for a Spanish wine of this grape variety – positioning the wine at the highest international level, despite the many difficulties to grow this variety in southern latitudes.

Painstaking work has been carried out in the vineyard over the years: cordon royat training has been replaced by guyot, foliage is used to provide shadow for the bunches and two harvests are regularly done: an early one to pick grapes with acidity; and a second one, almost two weeks later, to get ripe grapes and to allow the possibility to use some stems in fermentation. “At this altitude, radiation is very high; pinot noir has a very delicate skin and the grapes here risk getting scorched."" - Bibi Garcia, winemaker In contrast, Petit Verdot adapts really well to the soils and climate of Ronda. In this case the challenge for Cortijo de los Aguilares is just the opposite. They try to rein in its natural concentration and structure in the Tadeo Petit Verdot and search for elegance.

They consistently aim to achieve the maximum reflection of the terroir in its wines, especially Pagos el Espino in where Petit Verdot accounts for 65% of the blend; the rest is completed with Syrah and Tempranillo and ageing in big barrels helps to create a clean, fruit-driven style.