Bodega Albada

Aragon

Calatayud

Axial is founded in 1998 by Louis Geirnaerdt and Eugenie van Ekeris.

The Albada project has been developed by Axial together with winemaker Jesús Navascués with aim to produce wines that reflect the terroir. The province of Zaragoza is the birthplace of the Garnacha grape variety. In Calatayud its yields are low and there are old vines that are over a hundred years old, producing wines with fantastic, concentrated fruit.

History

Jesús Navascués, the winemaker and Axial have developed the Albada project. The control of production, management and marketing is total and hands on. In this way we can achieve a distribution and image that is selective and considered in Spain and abroad.
The word “Albada” has two meanings; it refers to the songs that the workers sing in the vineyards and it also means dawn. The label design was created by the artist Aitor Tellechea. This circular art work is an etching that pays homage to Garnacha, originally from Aragón and now found all over the world. The circle is a symbol of perfection, of forces perfectly balanced, beautiful and constant, but at the same time it represents the beginning and the end of the life cycle of the vine, that is renewed every year.

Region

Calatayud is a town 90 km from Zaragoza on the way to Madrid, with a rich history and an abundance of monuments that illustrate its Roman (“Bilbilis”) and Moorish past (“Qalat Ayub”). The cultivation of vines goes back 2000 years; nevertheless Calatayud only obtained Denominación de Origen status in 1990, probably because it was seen as a sleepy region that concentrated mainly on bulk wines. However in the last few years Calatayud has begun a promising transformation and the enormous potential of its vineyards is being reflected in its wines.
With nearly 6,500 hectares of vineyards, the authorized red grape varieties are: Garnacha (62%), Tempranillo, Mazuela, Monastrell, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Amongst the whites Macabeo (25%) is the main grape variety followed by Malvasia, Muscat of Alexandria, Garnacha Blanca and Chardonnay.

Vineyards, Soils & Climate

The Albada wine is sourced from Garnacha from old vines. Thanks to the great care shown by the vine growers from generation to generation 80% of the vines are older than 50 years old and some are older than 100 years old.
All our vines are bush vines and situated at an altitude of 650-850m around Villarroya de la Sierra. The space between the vines is considerable, which leads to low yields (2-3 tonnes/hectare) and healthy grapes.

The soil is made up of rocky material from the nearby mountains and red clay. Calatayud is the area with the most hills in Aragón and the vineyards are located between 550 and 880 metres.

The climate is semi-arid with cold winters with risks of frost. The rainfall varies between 300 and 550 mm and during the ripening period there are important differences between day and night temperatures, due to the high altitude, which is vital for the grapes, resulting in a good balance of acidity and alcohol. Calatayud enjoys 2,800 hours of sunshine.