In 1789, Carlos V granted Pedro José Pérez Valiente a title of nobility. Nearly a century later, we find one of his descendants in Ciudad Real, the Count of Casavaliente, an old-school landowner converted into the greatest landowner of the province. Among his belongings, not only do we find Casa de la Viña, but also several surrounding hillsides and other nearby properties, making him the owner of a little kingdom of up to 10.000 hectares of land.
He was the one responsible for initiating the vine plantation at the property back in 1857 not with the goal of elaborating wine himself but instead of selling the grapes to other winemakers of the region.
The current building, which houses the winemaking facilities dates back two centuries as well. It is an old country house of two stories with whitewashed walls, its noble wing made up of wide living rooms which have presently been converted into offices, a tasting-room, and 15 bedrooms on the upper floor.
There is a little entrance porch which has been converted into a brick arch with smooth lines, partially hidden behind an old elm-tree whose roots have formed undulations in the cobbled yard. In a little granary nearby one can contemplate the 16 earthenware jars which served as deposits for the conservation of wine a very long time ago. These taper at the bottom and one can imagine how long ago the solid particles in the wine used to collect there.
The large inner patio, surrounded by old stables, appears today empty and unaware of the hustle of old times, the noise of the cattle and the presence of labourers. Beyond the boundaries of the house itself, one enters into open countryside, where at times the only trace of mankind witnessed is the thought of how the skill of man has transformed the landscape into a vast garden of vines and crops.
Since the times of the Count of Casavaliente, when the extent of land owned was as large as 4,000 hectares, the property passed through several hands up until it was bought by its current owners, the SAT Anaypa. There was a time when the lands were hired out to the Obregons, a family from Segovia that continued the tradition of cultivation of vines. This tradition was carried on by its next owner, Angel Huertas, member of a long lineage of winemakers from La Mancha. However, during this time, the agricultural exploitation of the land continued, but the grape was always sold after harvesting, there was no wine production.
Eventually, after several phases, the plantation exceeded a million vines and at a cost of 125 million pesetas (in the old currency). The winemaking, still small-scale, was initiated in the 80's.
After the acquisition of the winery by Bodegas y Bebidas in 1987, the company then went on to sell the vineyards in 1996 to a long-standing agricultural family company, SAT Anaypa, which since, has continued to invest in improving the vineyards, now 40 years old and in their prime of life as well as further restructuring and planting other varietals.
The winery itself was sold to the Domecp Group and then to Pernot-Ricard but eventually in 2010 SAT Anaypa managed to acquire the winery also and thus formed the equivalent of a chateau, a winery with its own mansion situated within its estate.
Things started to change, when in the 70s, the then Bilbao Bank, acquired the property with the idea of creating a small scale winery and took on the task of restructuring the vineyard, ripping and rooting out old vines and initiating new plantations which would make it the greatest single vineyard in Europe. The work took place at a frenetic pace; some 7,000 vines were planted daily in trellis instead of bush vines and spaced out at 3x2 metres, with a view towards using harvester machines from the outset.
Casa de la Viña with its cobbled Mancha-style courtyards takes us back in time to 1857 when this country mansion was founded by the Count of Casavaliente, pioneer in winemaking in the area of Valdepeñas. Here in the heart of Castilla-La Mancha, the Casa de la Viña estate is located at an altitude of some 700m in a privileged environment.
The vineyards, sheltered by low hills, lie on either side of the Azuer River which provides some humidity in such a dry climate. Soils are ideal for viticulture; low in organic material and varying from sandy slopes to the lower-lying clayier soils capable of retaining moisture.
Casa de la Viña is a Castillian Chateau, a typical mansion and winery surrounded by its own vineyards in a picturesque setting. The wines are produced under the quality control certifications of DO Valdepeñas and Vino de la Tierra Castilla. The singular nature of this historic estate with its special microclimate confers to the wines a full-bodied and unique character. This gift of nature is enhanced by the skill of generations of experience in the tending of vines, from the old bush-vines Tempranillo and Airen, traditional to the area, to newer varietals such as Syrah, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Chardonnay, Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc.
WINERY
The winery stands out as unusual in the area as urban installations are the norm.
Casa de la Viña is, as the name indicates, a House in its Vineyard. This is very favourable for controlling all aspects of the winemaking process from taking care of the vines, controlling the maturity of the grapes, the time of harvest and above all the rapid transport of the harvested grapes to the winery reception area.
The stainless steel capacity is for some 5.5 million litres with tanks of 270,000 litres (16), 100,000 litres (4), 70,000 litres (8), 50,000 litres (20) and 30,000 litres (4) allowing a production of up to 4 million bottles yearly. The tanks have refrigerated sleeves and are placed outside, Californian style. The view of the shining tanks with the green splendour of the vineyards in the background is an image of authenticity.The new modern elaboration installations have had to be adapted to the existing primitive buildings to not alter their historical structure. The stainless steel tanks, the oak barrels, the bottles and the packaging materials have occupied the granaries and the stables. The agricultural disorder has been replaced by silence, necessary for the ageing process. At first sight rural accents invade the ambience and the truth of the winery's modern interior is only revealed upon entering.
The ageing cellars where the original wooden ceilings have been preserved can stack up to 1,000 oak casks of French and American oak, mostly new oak, and the oldest not exceeding 3 or 4 vintages. An iron grill divides this area from the bottle maturation area where up to 100,000 bottles are carefully stored.
