Pago de Cirsus

In the land of vines and olives...

Surface area

The Pago de Cirsus estate covers 200 hectares, of which 135 are given over to vineyard.

Reservoir

The vineyard is irrigated by the drip irrigation method from a reservoir with a capacity of 170 million litres

Varieties

Merlot, Tempranillo , Chardonnay , Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Small-grain Muscat

Bodega

Vine Varieties

The Pago de Cirsus estate grows some of the finest vine varieties which over the years have demonstrated their perfect adaptation to these lands: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Tempranillo, Syrah, Chardonnay and small-grain muscat. The estate produces around 4.000-4.500 kilos of grapes per hectare, which is very much lower than the limit set by the control board to achieve "high-quality wines".

The Estate

The “Terroir", as the French call it, runs alongside the Lodosa canal at an altitude of 220 metres. The predominant winds are from the east and the north (the Cierzo wind).

The climate is Continental with frosts during the winter and very high temperatures in summer, reaching between 30ºC and 40ºC in July and August. The soil is made up of tertiary calcareous sediment, clayey and limey sand, creating an ochre-coloured clay over most of the estate which is regarded as the optimum quality for growing vines. Part of the estate is on a slope which is another important factor: The vineyard faces towards the south to ensure the best possible grape ripening as a result of their greater exposure to the sun.

The Vineyard

The aim of the bodega is to make a 100% single-estate wine of the very highest quality; this can only be achieved using grapes from the bodega's own estate. With an average yield of around 4.000-4.500 kg per hectare, production from 135 hectares can reach around 607,500 kilos of excellent quality grapes for making Reserva and Gran Reserva wines. The grapes are picked manually and grape selection is a meticulous process, starting at the vineyard where the wines are green pruned and later at the selection table, where only the very best grapes are chosen for fermentation in the wooden vats.

Barrel-ageing

The low yields guarantee a good colour and stronglammins to create a wine with body and a powerful structure which, along with the highest quality French oak casks, allows us to achieve an elegant, long-living wine. The casks we use are the finest on the market.

Our cask stock consists of 80% French oak and 20% American oak, of which 30% are from the Radoux cooperage, 30% from Saury, 20% from Demptos and 20% Taransaud, which guarantee outstanding wine ageing properties. The average length of cask ageing is between 12 and 18 months, depending on the grape variety.

Characteristics

D.O. Navarra

The Bodega stands in the highest part of the estate, to the north, taking advantage of a natural valley between two small hills, with just one of its elevations facing the vineyard.

Standing next to the buildings that make up the Bodega is a unique tower-house of 23 metres built from ashlar stones in the style of the old fourteenth-century fortresses of Olite and the Kingdom of Navarre, where the guest and office areas are located. The Bodega is made up of the following facilities and surface areas

Facilities and Surface Areas

The Bodega is made up of the following facilities and surface areas:

BODEGA

• Manual winemaking facility and refrigerated chambers 366m2
• Mechanical winemaking facility, instalations and tanks 1.115m2
• Bottling and storage wing, bottling facility and laboratory 705m2
• Bottle-ageing hall 370m2
• Cask-ageing hall 388m2
• TOTAL BODEGA 2.944m2
• TOWER
• Entrance hall, waiting rooms, bathrooms and office mezzanine 284m2
• Dining room, kitchen, lounges 283m2
• Tower: 4 stories of 213 m2 852m2
• TOTAL TOWER 1.419m2
• TOTAL SURFACE AREA, BODEGA AND TOWER 4.363m2

Iñaki Núñez

Iñaki Núñez started off in the world of wine less than 10 years ago with the 200-hectare estate known as "Volandín" in the municipality of Ablitas in Navarre. He rapidly planted the grape varieties most ideally suited to the region: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Tempranillo, Syrah, Chardonnay and small-grain Muscat.

In 2002, construction of the bodega itself started, with the clear goal of making high quality Reserva wines, for which he has had no hesitation in reducing the production of grapes to an average of 4.500 kilos per hectare, or even below that in many cases.

The Oenologists

The Bodega boasts a team of oenologists led by Jean-Marc Sauboua, one of the most renowned French oenologists on the scene today, who was responsible for one of the most prestigious wineries in the world: Château HAUT-BRION in Bordeaux.

Jean Marc Sauboua

Jean Marc Sauboua was born in Bordeaux on 10 March 1962, the son of a French father and Spanish mother.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

-1988 Studied Wine and Spirits Marketing and Business in Bordeaux.

-1988 Oenologist in Bordeaux.

-1989-1991 Oenologist inStellenbosch (South Africa).

-1991-1993 Oenologist at Château HAUT-BRION in Bordeaux.

Château Haut-Brion is one of the largest and most legendary of French chateaux, regarded as one of the ten best wineries in the world.

Its Grand Cru Classé have been enjoyed by the majority of European monarchies for more than 200 years as an essential component of their official receptions.

-1993-2005 "Flying wine maker", consultant and oenologist in seven different countries (Chile, Australia, France, Italy, New Zealand, Moldavia and Spain), working as a consultant for 7 different wineries, including, since 2003 the "PAGO DE CIRSUS" bodega of BODEGAS IÑAKI NUÑEZ, S.L.

Location

Pago de Cirsus lies in the municipality of Volandin, three kilometres from the town of Ablitas, on a slope next to the road that links Ablitas and Ribaforada, seven kilometres from Tudela in Navarra (Spain).