CELLAR
With the aim of obtaining maximum quality wines, Castillo de Sajazarra have given their installations the latest technology. The cellar is distributed in three divisions:
Depository warehouse: houses the stainless steel truncated conical tanks with capacities of 5.400 and 9.500 litres, deposits of reinforced concrete lined with epoxy resin – used jointly as retainers – the wooden vats with a capacity for 10.000 litres, where malolactic ferments take place, as well as refining and the whole wine making process.
The best of each vintage passes to new French oak casks for the malolactic ferment. This is a slow procedure that usually lasts until the following spring, due to the late date (the beginning of December), and has a great deal of time for polimerization to achieve the maximum polifenoles, giving wines with more structure and oils less tannins, and steady colour.
Crianza warehouse: semi-interred and 800 square metres, holds 1.850 American and French oak casks with ideal humidity and temperature for the wine to mature. The middle age of the casks is 3 years and a half, and they were made with the best selection of different types of oak from their zones: The forests of Troncáis and Allier, in France and Missouri and the Apalaches of America.
Decanting is done periodically, according to tasting and analysis, until it reaches its maturity in the cask, which is around 14 to a maximum of 20 months in all. In each decanting the type and/or age of the casks are changed, searching for greater complexity.
Coupage: Once the ageing has finished in the cask, the wine is then passed to wooden vats, where it reaches its final maturity, between 3 to 6 months.
The wine stabilizes by natural decanting, for which two winters in the cask are necessary. We do not use clarifications, refrigeration or aggressive filters that always represent a decrease in quality.
Bottle-rack: At the last stage it passes to the bottle-rack, to finish ageing and settle until the moment in which it will be labelled, a period that varies from 12 to 24 months, depending on its qualities. The racks are semi-interred in rock in complete darkness, with automatic temperature and humidity control.