On national Route 40 and 5 kilometers to the north of the city of Cafayate, framed by imposing mountains, are 59,78 hectares (148 acres) of vineyards that belong to the Río Seco estate.
Sus suelos pobres en nutrientes, muestran texturas que van desde los muy pedregosos a los muy arenosos, con un importante abanico de situaciones intermedias.
Its nutrient-poor soils vary from very rocky to very sandy, with a significant range in between.
The climate is dry, as the mountain ranges that surround the valley block the humid air masses from the Pacific Ocean; this contributes to the excellent health of the grapes harvest after harvest.
The altitude, without a doubt the most important characteristic of the terroir, assures an abundant quantity of hours of sunlight, a clear sky and, most importantly, a wide variation between day and night temperatures, which assists in the accumulation of compounds that are very favorable for the grapes and later the wines.
Red varietals are trained with high vertical training in the “two cord” system, in which exposure to sunlight is optimum. The distribution of the bunches on the wire is more homogeneous and, because there are fewer bulges of bunches, fewer sicknesses occur. Budbreak and other phenologic phases are more uniform, which allows the quality of the grapes at harvest to be more uniform as well.
- Planted surface area: 59, 78 has (148 acres).
- Surface area by varietal:
Malbec: 26,50 has (65.5 acres)
Cabernet Sauvignon: 21,15 has (52.3 acres)
Syrah: 4, 74 has (11.7 acres)
Merlot: 3,30 has (8.2 acres)
Tannat: 3,07 has (7.6 acres)
Petit Verdot: 0,58 has (1.4 acres)
Chardonnay: 0,44 has (1.1 acres)
