The History of Los Pandos
The History of Wine in Los Pandos
Los Pandos boasts a rich history with records in the local land registry defining it as “heredamiento” Los Pandos – indicating the property’s Medieval origins. The term is still in use today. The cortijo, built in 1674 has been mentioned in many historical documents and the estate’s development was charted by local authorities. By the end of the XVII Century, Los Pandos had grown to incorporate 140 hectares, still small compared to the 830 it occupies today. In 1753, the then owner, Sr. Francisco Sanchez Ulloa established a land organisation called “mayorazgo”. This classification means the land can never be decreased but can increase at any time. For the last 200 years, the ownership of the land has been linked to the same family generation after generation.
The beginning of the XVIII Century saw Los Pandos thrown into the heart of one of the most decisive engagements of the War of the Spanish Succession – the Battle of Almansa. Despite the Portugese army seeking shelter in Los Pandos’ cortijo, (immortalised in the painting by artists Filippo Pallotta and Ventura Lirio), they, and their allies the British, were defeated by the Franco-Spanish army.
Latterly, several venerable names in Spanish wine history have graced the courtyards of Los Pandos; Jos? Rodriguez de Paterna who became the Mayor of Rioja’s Logro?o and Vicente Rodr?guez Paterna who joined the Board of directors at the renowned French-Spanish Bodega of Rioja-Bordon.
Finca los Pandos
Los Pandos is located in Almansa (Castilla-La Mancha) and covers 830 Hectares of which the 25 year old vineyard covers 80 Hectares. Almansa has got a privileged and strategic geographical location which has helped the city to develop an excellent communications infrastructure.
The climate conditions are perfect for the vineyard growing, especially in Los Pandos due to the ideal features of the land for agriculture.
According to Mr. Robert Parker’s opinion, Los Pandos is part of one of the most promising areas in the Spanish wine-growing regions – “Until 25 years ago there were only a few good wines apart from La Rioja, however, Spain is nowadays an explosion of creativity and innovation that reflects in all the wines, from the dry and aromatic white wines from Rias Baixas to the red wines from promising regions such as Toro, Navarra, Ribera de Duero, Priorato, Yecla, Jumilla and Alicante”.
Dominio de los Pandos. The Concept.
Wine production takes time and it is not something that can be created and produced quickly. This needs to be respected, otherwise the wine would turn into one more industrial drink with no history at all.
21st Century Detailed analysis is the key – During the last 3 years, our in-house team of biologists and oenologists have conducted several studies in order to finalise the strategy for the future vineyard and winery. The results of the varied studies, which include soil science and climatic studies on many different areas of the site, will now allow us to take decisions along with our oenologist recommendations regarding the exact varieties of vine to plant in each of the newly identified areas.
Building for the future – One of the studies that have been carried out by a team from the Universidad Polit?cnica de Madrid (Soil Science & Vegetal Production Department) will also provide us with a “performance map” throughout the new vineyard area identifying which variety on a specific plot will produce the best results from that grape. This scientific information will then allow our in-house team to finalise the definitive machinery area (fermentation, storage, etc…) in the winery.
(It is important to note that this team has been responsible for soil science studies in La Rioja and Ribera del Duero, as well as globally in Chile, Argentina and New Zealand.)
The great challenge nowadays is to be able to satisfy the market without losing the individual and unique features of every wine. We wish to contribute to this achievement and we have established some essential guidelines to face the challenge.
? Allow the vineyard to show its full natural potential
? Use only the grape types that match the land characteristics to get optimum results.
? Apply traditional and conservative techniques to get low production and high wine quality.
? Special attention to the grape purity and specific features to be reflected in the final wine.
? Producing wine with as little artificial interference as possible.
? Giving the wine the chance to show its own personality.
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