Tierra Estella is a region of beautifully preserved fortresses, castles and noble houses from the Middle Ages spanning out from the culture-rich town of Estella. Each year an ancient music festival in Estella pays homage to Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music. This hilly area in the northwest of Navarra is slightly warmer than Baja Montana. The Pyrenees that lie northeast give a cooling relief from the heat. Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grown here produce deliciously flavorful rosé wines and fruity, easy-drinking reds. This region is also the main area for Chardonnay. Its soils vary within the sub-region itself—in the north, they are mostly marine-based calcareous, and in the south–brown calcareous of non-consolidated material. This region covers 30 municipalities, and its vineyards comprise 17% of the region’s total. The climate is sub-humid with an annual mean temperature of 54 degrees F, and rainfall that averages 24 inches a year.
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