Baja Montaña

Location
East-central Navarra, bordering Aragon. Main town: Sangüesa.

Landscape
A zone marked by a pronounced relief and abundant mountain scrub. The few areas of cultivable land are dominated by vineyards.

Surface area
1,520 hectares.

Main varieties grown
Practically only red wine varieties, principally Garnacha (more than 60%) and Tempranillo (25%)

Soils
A mixture of soils, depending on elevation and substrata composition. In the northernmost area, soils are of a varying depth, largely free of stones, and heavily textured atop the grey marls of the marine Eocene period in the Lumbier basin. On the remaining slopes, soil depth and particle size vary, with layers of fine or silty loam alternating with marl and sand. Vineyards on alluvial valley floors–and on the remains of the alluvial terraces of the Irati and Aragon rivers–are frequently characterised by abundant round gravel and deep, loamy soils with excellent drainage.

Climate
This zone is located between the sub-humid zone to the north and the high, dry zone to the south. As a result of the differences in altitude, the growing season for vineyards ranges between 205 days in Lerga and 234 in San Martín de Unx. Of the D.O.’s five subzones, Baja Montaña experiences the most Continental influence, by way of the Pyrenees.

Principal winemaking municipalities
Aibar, Cáseda, Eslava, Ezprogui, Gallipienzo, Javier, Leache, Lerga, Liédena, Lumbier, Sada, Sangüesa, San Martín de Unx, Ujué and the Councils of Arboniés and Domeño in the Romanzado Valley and the Councils of Rípodas, San Vicente and Tabar in the Urraul Bajo Valley.