Finca La Emperatriz

Finca la Emperatriz - the winery of the queen

Finca La Emperatriz is the original name of an estate in Baños de Rioja, now owned by the Hernáiz family. The name comes from the original owner, the last Empress of France, Eugenia de Montijo. This Spanish noblewoman was the wife of Napoleon III (who himself had introduced the cru system in Bordeaux) and had high-quality wines made as early as the second half of the 19th century, for which she received a medal at the 1878 World's Fair in Paris. The Hernáiz family purchased the entire estate in 1996 and immediately began their first project to produce top-quality wines.

The terroir of Finca la Emperatriz

Finca La Emperatriz is located on the northwestern edge of the D.O.Ca. Rioja, on one of the highest plateaus of Rioja Alta, at 570 meters above sea level. It is located 12 km south of Haro and offers an unobstructed view of the Sierra Cantabria and the Sierra de la Demanda. Because of its location, the climate here is much more continental than in most of Rioja, although it is somewhat modified by the influence of the Atlantic Ocean to the north. All in all, it is a perfect climate for the gentle ripening of Tempranillo. It is characterized by extremely poor soil that is difficult to work, producing fine, mineral wines with excellent aging potential. Although the winery is a single plot of land, the Hernáiz family has divided it into different plots and uses different techniques to manage the vineyards, depending on the subtle differences between each plot. The age of the existing vines and the soils lead to different grape varieties, rootstocks, planting density and direction, and training systems.

Barren soils, a lot of heat

The vineyard of Finca La Emperatriz covers over 30 hectares planted with bush vines with an average age of over 60 years.  The plateau where the winery is located is part of the old riverbed formed by the meltwater of the Sierra de la Demanda, which today forms the Río Oja, which still flows near the winery. A landscape of large and small white pebbles retains very little rainwater, which is ideal for the wines during the ripening period. At the same time, the shine of the pebbles reflects sunlight back to the vines and increases the level of polyphenols in the grapes, which in turn create color and body in the wines. The part of the vineyard that was already planted remained untouched, about 40 hectares of vines planted in the 1950s. After an in-depth study of the soils, specific clones were selected, suitable for each part of the vineyard. Today, the following grape varieties are grown at Finca la Emperatriz:

• Tempranillo
• Garnacha
• Graciano
• Viura
• Maturana

On the way to ecology

The vineyard is worked with a philosophy of deep respect for the environment. Therefore, responsible and sustainable agriculture is practiced throughout the winery, where the use of insecticides has been replaced by pheromones and herbicides are avoided, leaving a green cover. In addition, the remains of the annual pruning are used as fertilizer and, when necessary, treatments recommended for organic farming are used. The Hernáiz family has the goal of obtaining official certification for organic viticulture in the next few years.