LA GUARDIA BLOCK#1 – CHARACTERISTICS

La Guardia is our largest vineyard, covering almost 25 acres, where the soils of the pre-mountain range exhibit their greatest variety among the different blocks, the result of millions of years of geological activity. In Block #1, the soils are primarily sandy-loam, where the mix of sand and silt allows for water drainage and moisture retention, which is crucial in desert climates like that of the Pucará Valley.
Block #1 is situated in the middle zone of La Guardia, at an altitude of 7.970 feet above sea level, with a north-south orientation and a slope toward the southeast.

The name La Guardia comes from an ancient cornfield of the Incas, who would descend to the valley to till the land during the day and ascend to the Pucará de La Reyna at sunset, located at 9.850 feet above sea level. This ancient fortified city, with very difficult access, was an ideal place for defense against enemy attacks, where sentinels stationed in watchtowers guarded the numerous families living within the Pucará. La Guardia still preserves the ancient stone walls that formed corrals for herds of llamas, closed off with wooden gates made from saguaro cacti.

The desert climate, with only 150 millimeters of rainfall per year and controlled drip irrigation supplied by a 4.5-mile pipeline that captures pure mountain water at 11,500 feet, allows plant water stress. The north-south orientation of the vineyards maximizes sun exposure, providing over 14 hours of sunlight daily during the growing cycle.