Bierzo
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Grape varieties
Wineries
The Designation of Origin Bierzo is located in a clearly separated region in the western province of Leon. It occupies a tectonic hollow or depression surrounded by important mountain formations (Montes de León and Cantabrian Mountains), slightly open to the southwest along the valley of the river Sil, which allows a clear Atlantic influence that provides climate traits with advantages both from the Mediterranean and from the Atlantic climate at once: mild temperatures, high solar radiation and good water supply.
The vineyard is spread over homogeneous properties in the lowlands and on the mid-slope.
The bottom of the depression, at about 400 m above sea level, presents an essentially flat relief which corresponds to the fossilized levels of the river terraces of the Sil and its affluents, which cross and drain the area. In the highly rough edges of the hollow the vineyards reach heights of almost 800 m.
The hollow is covered by Miocene and Quaternary sediments (debris, sand and clay, mainly), while the edges are formed by very exfoliated primary slate rocks. Bierzo wines are mainly produced from MencÃa grapes, although in the latest years Tempranillo, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are accepted and used in an experimental production (less than 15% of the wine content). An example of this production is the wine Pétalos del Bierzo.
The vineyard is spread over homogeneous properties in the lowlands and on the mid-slope.
The bottom of the depression, at about 400 m above sea level, presents an essentially flat relief which corresponds to the fossilized levels of the river terraces of the Sil and its affluents, which cross and drain the area. In the highly rough edges of the hollow the vineyards reach heights of almost 800 m.
The hollow is covered by Miocene and Quaternary sediments (debris, sand and clay, mainly), while the edges are formed by very exfoliated primary slate rocks. Bierzo wines are mainly produced from MencÃa grapes, although in the latest years Tempranillo, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are accepted and used in an experimental production (less than 15% of the wine content). An example of this production is the wine Pétalos del Bierzo.
