Colección 125

Limited production

Colección 125 was released in 1985 to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the winery’s first export in 1860. Some time later, in 1993, the first vintage of the Colección 125 Chardonnay was launched, this has now come to be regarded as one of the finest white wines in the world today.

Colección 125 Blanco

At Legardeta, the Chardonnay has found a unique stronghold, with perfect climate and soil conditions for obtaining wines with the kind of typicity, complexity and exceptional ageing ability only found in a very few terroirs around the world.

The Colección 125 Blanco comes from a selection of grapes from a single plot known as "Las Mercedes” located on a north-facing slope with a clay-loam texture at an altitude of 480 m. Thanks to this location, combined with the influence of the Atlantic-Continental climate, the Chardonnay varietal is able to ripen gradually, without drying out or producing an excessive increase in potential alcohol, while preserving excellent levels of acidity, aromatic potential and expressiveness.

The grapes are harvested by hand and placed in crates so that they arrive intact at the winery where they are sorted. After a short maceration, the grapes are pressed at low pressure. Only the best quality free-run must is used, which is then transferred into 225-litre barrels where it ferments and ages with its lees in suspension for about a year.

Colección 125 Vendimia Tardía

The Moscatel grapes used for this wine come from “El Candelero”, a vineyard planted in 1969 in the municipality of Cintruénigo, in the Ribera Baja sub-region. The vineyard is located on gravelly alluvial soils with good drainage, ensuring a balanced production of the vine, thus allowing the grapes to attain the excellent ripeness and health required for a late harvest.

The grapes ripen in the Ebro Valley's characteristic continentalised Mediterranean climate. Arid and sunny, it allows a long-cycle variety such as the Moscatel to ripen to perfection and creates conditions that are conducive to the over-ripening process.

The production process begins with a manual and staggered harvest in which only bunches having reached their perfect point of over-ripeness are cut, leaving the others for the next selection. The objective is to obtain grapes with a high concentration of sugar and sufficient acidity. Once in the winery, the grapes are pressed to obtain a dense must which is then transferred into French oak barrels where it partially ferments leaving a high residual sugar content. It is then aged on its lees for about 9 months.

Colección 125 Rosado

Colección 125 Rosado is a barrel-fermented rosé for cellar-ageing. It comes from a selection of plots of Garnacha and Tempranillo from the Legardeta Estate, harvested at the optimal point of ripeness for this type of wine.

The grapes are harvested by hand and placed into 200-kg crates so that they arrive intact at the winery where they are sorted. After a short maceration in vat, the must is "bled" using the traditional method to obtain the best quality free run must. This is then transferred into 225-litre French oak barrels where it ferments and ages on its lees for 9 to 12 months.

Colección 125 Reserva

Legardeta Estate is at the geographical limit for the cultivation of the Tempranillo variety, and is, in fact, the northernmost zone at which this varietal is found.

In Legardeta, the Tempranillo grows at mid-altitude in soils that are not too fertile. This is the starting point for creating well-balanced vegetation, a controlled yield and medium-small bunches and grapes. In addition, the special climatic conditions enable this varietal to ripen perfectly, without over-ripening, while preserving excellent levels of acidity. This, in turn, results in wines with character, freshness and excellent cellar-ageing potential.

The Colección 125 Reserva comes from a selection of Legardeta’s finest plots of Tempranillo. Here, the grapes are carefully harvested by hand and placed into small 200 kg crates. Later, in the winery, the grapes are sorted and gravity-fed into 20,000 kg stainless steel vats, where the wine ferments at a controlled temperature. A gentle extraction by means of manual pumping over operations is essential during this process. Once the malolactic fermentation is completed, the wine is gravity-fed into French oak barrels where it will remain for between 15 and 18 months, depending on the characteristics of the vintage.