Setting
Located at the gateway to Andalusia, in the province of Jaen, in the town of Villanueva de la Reina.
Galgón 99, S.L., is sited in the province’s Sierra Norte, located in the foothills of the Sierra Morena, between Bailen and Andujar, at an altitude of 400 metres.
Its exceptional location forms a true natural border between the Castilian Plateau and the Valley of the Guadalquivir and includes high ecological valued enclaves of Mediterranean forest with a wide variety of fauna and flora.
The climate in this area is largely determined by the peculiar structure of the Valley of the Guadalquivir, which, thanks to fact it opens out to the ocean, allows cloud masses to enter, crossing the corridor from West to East aided by the dominant winds and causing important rainfall during the Spring and Autumn. Regarding rain measurements, two periods with maximum rainfall may be observed in November-December and in March-April. The driest period (summer) is characteristic of the Mediterranean climate and according to Professor Rivas Martinez this means that we are located, without any doubt, in the optimum climate due to its geographical location between the countryside of the Guadalquivir River and the Sierra Morena, for obtaining oils with a special aromatic quality owing to the fact that the average annual temperature is around 16 and 18º C, with an average rainfall of 550-700 mm/per year.
The ecosystems characterising the area are:
Mediterranean forest and scrubland
b) Pine groves
c) Fertile plains
The fauna is rich and varied. Amongst the mammals there are singular species such as the Egyptian mongoose, the only European species of mongoose, and the lynx, which is in danger of extinction. The presence of large herbivores such as common deer, fallow deer and roe deer, encouraged by mankind have caused these areas to be used as hunting ranges. The occasional appearance of wolves means this is the southern-most stronghold of the species on the Iberian Mainland.
It is worth mentioning the presence of two particularly vulnerable species when talking about birds: the imperial eagle and the black vulture, which both nest in this type of forest.