Terroir
Personality and individualityAbadía Retuerta’s terroir
The river Duero runs through the local landscape, defining the characteristics of Abadía Retuerta’s terroir. In the early days of the project, the winery’s experts had a tough job on their hands: they had to divide the estate into different plots, according to the variety to be planted, the soil type, as well as the degree of exposure and altitude. All of this and more had to be done before they could plant the precious vines.
A total of 54 distinct plots were identified. Many of them are by the monastery, at an altitude of 720 metres, while some are on the other side of the Duero, at 850 metres.
Devotion, perseverance and tradition are an intrinsic part of Abadía Retuerta’s character. The team work tirelessly to look after each individual plot, and they have the utmost respect for the grapes, using the gravity method to handle them.
The Soils
The uniqueness and variety of the soils at Abadía Retuerta is one of the key reasons why the resulting wine is quite so special.
The aroma, flavour and colour profile of the wine can vary greatly, depending on the soil type. At Abadía Retuerta, there are some chalky plots, while others are more clayey, or with some degree of clay sediments, sands or sandy gravel.
A unique estate
Abadía Retuerta’s unique location, at the narrowest part of the Duero Valley, truly enhances the quality of the wines. The valley’s slopes are closer together here than in other regions, which means the temperatures drop significantly at certain points on the estate, which has some of the lowest temperatures.
The Plots
In the Duero Valley, there are drastic changes of temperatures from day to night, from winter to summer. There is a lot of sunshine, and little rain: these are the ideal conditions for growing grapevines.
The terroir where our vines grow is highly complex, due to millennia of erosion, flooding and sedimentation.
