The Atauta Valley on the easternmost edge of the Ribera del Duero is only four kilometres long. At 59 hectares, it is the largest area in the world still planted with vines over 100 years old ungrafted. Jaime Suárez, Technical Director of Dominio de Atauta, talks about the challenges of keeping viticulture alive there.
Jaime Suárez has been Technical Director of Dominio de Atauta since 2016.
Dominio de AtautaWhat is so special about the Atauta Valley?
Jaime Suárez: Everything, actually (laughs). The valley is very secluded at an altitude of around 1,000 metres on the eastern edge of the Ribera del Duero appellation in the province of Soria. It is only four kilometres long and around one kilometre wide. There are still 59 hectares of vines in the entire valley - all ungrafted and between 130 and 190 years old. Although the valley is very small, we have been able to characterise 25 different terroirs.
Is there a comparable area in Europe with pre-phylloxera vines?
Jaime Suárez: Not that I know of. I think it is the largest contiguous area of ungrafted vines in the world.
Dominio de Atauta cultivates 56 of the 59 hectares of vines. How long has the winery existed?
Jaime Suárez: It was founded in 1999 by wine merchant Miguel Sánchez. Sánchez himself comes from the province of Soria. At the time, he was missing wines from this lesser-known part of the Ribera del Duero in his portfolio. He was so fascinated by this growing region that he set up his own project in the Atauta Valley. In 2000, he produced wine there for the first time and showed the potential that lies dormant here.
Since 2009, Dominio de Atauta has been part of the Spanish group Terra Selecta, which owns eight wineries in Spain. But Dominio de Atauta is less about business and more about keeping viticulture alive in the valley.
Is the project a flagship for Terra Selecta?
Jaime Suárez: It is very complicated and expensive to cultivate 700 small plots. You need a certain amount of capital behind you. And it is a great privilege for the company to continue this winemaking tradition. Without our commitment, there would be no more viticulture in the valley.
700 plots, that's almost unimaginable. How can this small-scale situation be explained?
Jaime Suárez: You have to immerse yourself in history. Almost everyone in the province of Soria owned a piece of land with a few vines, the majority of which were Tinto Fino (Tempranillo). Most of the grapes were used for personal consumption and vinified by the people themselves. Wine was also considered a means of payment at the time.
When the Ribera del Duero appellation was created in 1982, most of the large wineries settled in the provinces of Valladolid and Burgos. Soria is the highest and coldest region of the appellation. Within the province, the Atauta Valley is even more extreme, as it extends at an altitude of 930 to 1,000 metres. In the past, the grapes often did not ripen there. This is why the bodegas had no interest in investing. As a result, the area under vines gradually declined. There is talk of a former cultivation area of around 200 hectares.
Tinto Fino, as the Tempranillo grape variety is known in the Ribera del Duero, grows here on very poor soils.
Dominio de AtautaWhat did the other winegrowers do with their grapes?
Jaime Suárez: There was a cellar co-operative in San Esteban de Gormaz. There they were processed into bulk wine, which was sold in the Plaza de Madrid. But grape prices plummeted. Many vineyards were no longer properly tended because it simply wasn't worth it for the farmers.
So it was very easy to buy vineyards 25 years ago.
Jaime Suárez: Exactly. Even though the Ribera del Duero appellation enjoyed great success at the end of the 1990s, this was not felt in Soria. It was only our winery that revitalised viticulture in the valley and filled the first bottles. That was a great relief for the local winegrowers. Dominio de Atauta paid them six times as much as the cooperative. In the second year, no one delivered to the cooperative.
Does Dominio de Atauta also have its own vineyards or do you only buy in grapes?
Jaime Suárez: The winery now owns 30 hectares of vines and buys grapes from a further 26 hectares. Some vineyards are still cultivated by their owners. Those that have become too old are left to us to work. But our quality standards in the vineyard apply to all contract winegrowers.
What have you changed in the vineyards?
Jaime Suárez: Before the winegrowers sold their grapes to us, they harvested the maximum possible quantity from their vineyards. The vines were in very poor condition back then. So we reduced the yields by half and brought the vines into balance. This allowed the grapes to ripen much better. Today, the yield is 2,000 kilos per hectare on the sandy soils and 2,500 kilos per hectare on the clay soils.
It must be very demanding to look after these ancient vines.
Jaime Suárez: For us, they are at the centre of our work. Preserving the vines is our priority. They make the difference. Today they are powerful and resilient, but it has taken time.
What do you do when a vine needs to be replaced? Are you allowed to replant ungrafted vines?
Jaime Suárez: (sighs) That's a sore point. The EU prohibits the planting of vines in Europe ungrafted - with certain exceptions. Unfortunately, these do not apply to our valley, although phylloxera has never been detected here. To replace dead vines, we have selected some particularly suitable vines, from which we take scions to vine nursery as required. There they are propagated and grafted onto a rootstock.
Snow is not uncommon in the Atauta Valley.
Dominio de AtautaHow has the climate changed over the past 20 years?
Jaime Suárez: So far, climate change has brought more advantages for us. Whereas it used to be a very cold, continental climate, today it is only cold. Our vineyards are at the limit where viticulture is still possible. Despite the rise in temperatures, the risk of late frosts is still high.
Is the valley suffering from a lack of water?
Jaime Suárez: Of course, we are also struggling with the low rainfall. The average is around 440 mm per year. To avoid drought stress, we have to limit the yields very much. We also protect the soil between the vines from drying out by using cover crop. This is because we cannot irrigate due to the small parcelisation.
What difference does the soil make?
Jaime Suárez: We mainly have two types of soil: sandy and clayey. With both, we only have a relatively shallow depth of 70 and 140 centimetres, but underneath is a limestone layer that stores the water very well. That is our great advantage. As the old vines have very deep roots, they are able to utilise even the last water reserves.
Can you tell from the grapes at what depth the vines are rooted?
Jaime Suárez: Absolutely. When we worked out the 25 terroirs, we realised that this is one of the many variables.
Dominio de Atauta makes two entry-level cuvées and five cru wines. Would 25 crus be possible?
Jaime Suárez: Yes, theoretically we could vinify the 25 terroirs individually. That would be very interesting. But unfortunately our cellar is not equipped for that. If I could, I would emphasise the different sites even more. Above all because knowledge about the specialities of the wines grows with every vintage. But from a business point of view, this is hardly feasible, even if the Atauta project has a "Burgundian soul".
Ismael Sanz (l.) and Jaime Suárez (r.) are responsible for the vineyards and cellar at Dominio de Atauta.
Dominio de AtautaAre the two entry-level wines very different?
Jaime Suárez: Yes. Both are blends of Tempranillo from different terroirs, but there is a significant difference. The Parada de Atauta is an expression of sandy soils, while the Dominio de Atauta comes from clayey soils. The Parada de Atauta contains up to ten per cent grapes from the neighbouring valley, as it has become increasingly popular over the years and we needed more grapes. The Parada is more accessible and therefore the gateway to the world of Atauta.
You have been working for the winery since 2016. What does it mean to you to produce wine under these extreme conditions?
Jaime Suárez: It fills me with great pride not only to make wine, but also to preserve a unique historical cultural landscape with my work. The people here in the valley identify with the wine. When we receive an award for our wines, the whole village celebrates. That's a special form of appreciation.