When it came to finding a name for our project, we didn’t hesitate.
Before launching it, we spent two intense and enriching years studying the current situation of transhumance of merino sheep in Spain. Over that time, during countless days spent working with ranch owners, ranch foremen and shepherds, one term kept coming up.
“Look at its posture. The framed head, and that dark covering on the back is the wool grease. There’s blood from Las Hidalgas in that one”
Las Hidalgas is the only Leonese merino ranch that has survived into modern times.
The Hidalgo family, from Sena de Luna, managed to maintain the purity of this unique indigenous breed through great care and fidelity to its forebears.
The sheep is characterised by being of a fair size, with the face and hooves slightly exposed, and with a very fine wool. Its fleece is rich in wool grease, which is what gives it that greyish appearance.
In recent years, these characteristics have led it to be highly sought after by other sheep farmers attempting to maintain the purity of their flocks.
Nowadays, on the property belonging to Miguel Granda, the sheep continue to enjoy the best pastures on the mountain passes of Babia in summer, and in the meadows of Extremadura in winter.
What better illustration of our passion for maintaining transhumance and its excellent wool than that of the Las Hidalgas ranch, which has kept its identity alive, with a history forged by so many journeys along the drover’s roads of Spain.