2007 Monagos, Pago Del Vicario, , Spain, Vino de la Tierra de Castilla

Pago del Vicario was founded in 2000, modeled after the great French Châteaux. It focused on producing wines from grapes from its own vineyards. The vineyards are situated at an altitude of 600 meters and include a total of 130 hectares. Tempranillo dominates the vineyards, but there are many other noble grape varieties found such as Garnacha, Graciano, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.

The harvest is done at nighttime only to prevent the collected grapes from being too hot and therefore risking to lose a great deal of their finesse and freshness. After harvest, the next step is maceration on the skins for 21 days, then followed by 12 months of aging in French and American barrels.
The wine is made by a brilliant female winemaker: Susana López Mendiondo.

Vino de la Tierra is a quality level of Spanish wine that designates the level below the mainstream quality wine indication of Denominación de Origen (DO). It is the equivalent of the French Vin de pays. It not only covers still wine but also sparkling wine and fortified wine. The labels of Vino de la Tierra wines are allowed to state the vintage year and the grape varieties used in production.