Carrión de Calatrava
Ciudad Real · Castilla–La Mancha
DO Campo de CalatravaDO La Mancha3.239inhabitants
1147wine documented
A municipality of the Campo de Calatrava whose territory includes Calatrava la Vieja, the Andalusi Qal'at Rabah conquered in 1147 and the birthplace of the Order of Calatrava. It arose as a hamlet dependent on Calatrava; its name is attributed, without documentation, to settlers from the Carrión valley.
First mention: According to Wikipedia, the settlement charter of Miguelturra (13th century) already mentions Carrión as a neighbouring place; the oldest dated document that mentions it is the grant of El Turrillo by Master Garci López de Padilla (1488), when it was already a town.
The legend
Bronze Age archaeological evidence; conquest of Calatrava documented in 1147; family bodega since 1898; DOP 2024The vineyards of the monks of Calatrava la Vieja
Within the municipal boundaries of Carrión, beside the Guadiana, stands Calatrava la Vieja, the Andalusi Qalat Rabah that Alfonso VII conquered in 1147. Its defence was taken on by Raimundo, the Cistercian abbot of Fitero, and the soldier Diego Velázquez, and from that charge was born the Order of Calatrava, which gave its name to the whole district. The tradition recorded in the denomination’s specification tells that the Order shared out land among the settlers for sowing and, above all, for planting vines brought and tended by the Cistercian monks, masters of wine. Long before, in the Bronze Age motilla of Carrión, fragments of drinking cups and grape seeds were found. Today, a few kilometres away, the oldest bodega in the district is still open.
Alive today: Carrión de Calatrava belongs to the DOP Campo de Calatrava, registered by the EU in February 2024 as Spain’s 102nd designation of origin and known for its volcanic soils. In the town, wine is made by Bodegas Naranjo, founded in 1898 by Gaspar Naranjo and now in its sixth generation, which presents itself as the oldest bodega in the Campo de Calatrava.
Wineries and their wines
- Casa de la Dehesa
- Lahar Brut Nature
- Lahar de Calatrava Merlot Cencibel
- Lahar de Calatrava Sauvignon Blanc
- Viña Cuerva Airen
- Viña Cuerva Crianza
- Viña Cuerva Reserva
- Viña Cuerva Tempranillo
Wine towns nearby