AALTO Bodegas y Viñedos
- Ribera del Duero
Mariano García and Javier Zaccagnini founded AALTO in 1999, both bringing years of expertise to the project. García was the winemaker at Vega Sicilia from 1968 to 1998.
110 ha. - AALTO utilizes 100% Tempranillo for their wines, sourced from nine different villages in the region. All fruit is hand-harvested, sorted, and destemmed before fermentation. Both fermentation and aging occur in French oak barrels. The wines are rich, extracted, and very modern in style.
Bodega Numanthia
- Toro.
Numanthia’s wines reflect the typical Toro style: powerful, extracted, and robust, made with grapes from oldvines. Because the region receives very little rainfall, the vines are spaced out so that they can reach thelimited water. Numanthia’s three bottlings, Termes, Numanthia, and Termanthia, are made exclusively fromTempranillo. Termanthia is the flagship of the estate and of the region.
Numanthia was purchased by Moët Hennessy in 2008. They are part of Grandes Pagos de España. - Termanthia: 100% Tempranillo from the ungrafted 140-year-old vines of the Teso de Los CarrilesVineyard. The wine is aged in 200% new French oak barrels and never fined nor filtered. Inauguralvintage 2000.
Numanthia: 100% Tempranillo from 70-100 year old ungrafted vines. Aged 18 months in new French oak barrels.
Style: Numanthia only produces wines made Tempranillo. Their fruit is hand-harvested and sorted prior to fermentation. The berries are crushed by foot and undergo extended maceration, up to 16 days for the Termanthia. The wines are then aged in French oak barrels.
Bodegas Faustino
Rioja Alavesa
- Bodegas Faustino was established in 1861 by Euleuterio Martinez Arzok in the town of Oyón in Rioja Alavesa. The vineyards he purchased are situated at 1,200 to 1,800 feet in elevation on chalky soils, with a cooler climate thanks to their proximity to the Atlantic.
- 650 ha
- Faustino I Gran Reserva: 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano, 5% Mazuelo, from estate-owned vineyards.The grapes undergo a 27-day maceration before being aged for 28 months in a combination ofAmerican (80%) and French (20%) oak barrels, followed by three years in bottle.
Faustino V Reserva: 90% Tempranillo, 10% Mazuelo. The fruit is macerated for 20 days, then aged in American oak casks for 17 months, with two years in the bottle before release.
- Style: Bodegas Faustino uses fruit solely from its estate vineyards and estate bottles all of its wines. The winery employs extended maceration, uses mostly American oak, and exceeds Rioja’s legal aging requirements.
Bodegas Franco-Españolas
- Rioja Alta
Winemaker Carlos Estecha has been with Franco-Españolas since 1988, farming over 200 owned acres and working with even more growers. Top whites are based entirely on Viura, completely destemmed, and aged in stainless steel or American oak. Estecha sometimes opts for skin contact in top whites. The top red wines are made in a traditional manner: Tempranillo dominant and aged solely in American oak barrels.
Bodegas Hermanos de Peciña
- Although it is one of the youngest estates in the Rioja region, Hermanos de Peciña is committed to traditional techniques.
- Peciña’s vineyards are located in the foothills of the Sierra Cantabria mountain range, on the border of the Alavesa subregion. His vines average between 40 and 60 years of age and have northern exposure.
- Señorío de P. Peciña Gran Reserva: 95% Tempranillo, 3% Graciano, 2% Garnacha, from the oldest vineyards on the estate. An elevation of about 500 metres combined with northern exposure produces grapes with high acidity. Aged in American oak barrel for four years followed by three years in bottle. Only produced in exceptional vintages.
- Style: Hermanos de Peciña practices organic and biodynamic viticulture, and all pruning and harvesting is done by hand. The fruit is destemmed and undergoes fermentation with natural yeasts. The estate uses only traditional Rioja grapes including Tempranillo, Graciano, Garnacha, and Viura. Wines are aged in used American oak casks.
Bodegas López de Heredia
s López de Heredia has been strictly family owned since its inception in 1877 and is currently operated by the family’s fourth generation.
- López de Heredia is considered one of the most traditional producers in the region. All wines undergo extensive aging in American oak barrels, typically exceeding the minimum requirements set by the Consejos Reguladores. They do not employ any new oak.
- Vina Tondonia, Vina Bosconia, Vina Cubillas, Vina Zaconia.
Viña Tondonia Red Reserva: 75% Tempranillo, the rest a blend of Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Graciano. Inaugural vintage 1890.
Style: True to its high standards of quality, López deHeredia carefully monitors all levels of production, from meticulous selection done by hand in the vineyardsto an on-premise cooperage owned by the family. Most of the winery’s vineyards have a vine age over 40years. The winery’s top red and white wines often undergo 10 years of aging in American oak barrels andspend additional time resting in the bottle prior to release.
Bodegas Marqués de Cáceres
Rioja Alta
Marqués de Cáceres Reserva: 85% Tempranillo, the rest a blend of Graciano and Garnacha Tinta.Aged 22 months in French oak, followed by an additional two years in bottle. Only produced in selectvintages. Inaugural vintage 1975.
Marqués de Cáceres Gran Reserva: 85% Tempranillo, the rest a blend of Graciano and Garnacha Tinta. Aged 26 to 28 months in French oak, followed by an additional four years in bottle. Only produced in select vintages. Inaugural vintage 1975.
- Style: Influenced by their time in France, the Forners use a combination of new and used French barriques. The winery works with Michel Rolland, France’s most well-known wine consultant, who is known for his modern, fruit-forward, heavily extracted style
Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta
Rioja Alta
- Marqués de Murrieta is one of the largest bodegas in Rioja, established by Luciano de Murrieta in 1852.
- Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial: 85% Tempranillo, 15% Mazuelo, from the La Plana vineyard, planted in 1950. The grapes are destemmed and undergo fermentation separately in stainless steel vats. The Tempranillo is aged in American oak and the Mazuelo in French barrique for 28 months before being blended, bottled, and aged for about three years before release.
- Style: The winery uses mostly classic Rioja
varieties
such as Tempranillo, Mazuelo, Garnacha, and Graciano and employs both French barrique and American oak casks for aging. One of its more modern efforts is a bottling called Dalmau, in which Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with Tempranillo. This wine undergoes extraction and is aged in new French barrique.
Bodegas Marqués de Riscal
Rioja Alavesa
- Barón de Chirel: Primarily Tempranillo with Cabernet Sauvignon, from 80- to 110-year-old vines. Aged in French barrique for about 20 months. Only produced in exceptional vintages. Inaugural vintage1986.
- Marqués de Riscal is one of the most modernestates in Rioja. Their early Cabernet Sauvignon plantings and the use of the grape in their flagship wine, Barón de Chirel, showcase the winery’s innovation and willingness to depart from tradition. Their use of oak and choice of consulting, both French, also play an important role in their style. The late Paul Pontallier of Château Margaux served as the estate’s consultant for many years
Bodegas Muga
Haro
- Today, Bodegas Muga has 250 hectares of vines and its own cooperage on premise.
- Prado Enea, Torre Muga.
- Prado Enea: 80% Tempranillo, the rest a blend of Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Graciano, from vinesgrown on a combination of chalky clay and alluvial soils. The vinification process takes place inwooden vats of varying sizes, beginning with large vats during maceration and fermentation. The wine is transferred to smaller vats and aged for three years, with an additional three years in bottle. The wine is filtered with egg whites. Inaugural vintage 1968.
Bodegas Remelluri
La Granja Remelluri Gran Reserva: Primarily Tempranillo from 50- to 100-year-old vines, the rest a blend of Garnacha, Graciano, Moscatel, Viura, and Malvasia. The grapes are hand-harvested and fermented in a combination of stainless steel and neutral wooden vats. The wine undergoes extensive aging in both French and American oak. Only produced in exceptional vintages.
- Remelluri was the first estate in Rioja to do 100% estate bottling of its wines. Its focus is on classic Rioja varieties, including Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo, and Viura. In the vineyard, Remelluri employs biodynamic techniques, and natural yeasts are used for fermentation.
Bodegas Riojanas
- The winery is located in the town of Cenicero and prides itself on owning some of the largest plots of Mazuelo and Graciano in Rioja, in addition to its plots of Tempranillo.
- Monte Real Gran Reserva: 100% Tempranillo. The wine is fermented and aged in 100% American oakcasks for 24 to 30 months, followed by three years in bottle. Only produced in the best vintages.
Viña Albina Gran Reserva: Blend of Tempranillo, Graciano, and Mazuelo. The wine is aged in 100%American oak casks for 24 to 30 months, followed by three years in bottle. Only produced in the best vintages. - Style: For the estate’s flagship wines, grapes are hand-harvested into small bins in order to prevent premature crushign of the grapes. Grapes are sorted by hand before undergoing extended maceration, then are fermented and aged in American oak casks. Bodegas Riojanas primarily grows Tempranillo, Graciano, Mazuelo, and Viura.
Bodegas Roda
- Haro
- Bodegas Roda owns 17 vineyard sites. The vines range from 30 to 80 years old, with Tempranillo representing the bulk of their fruit. Other varieties include Graciano and Garnacha. The estate’s two flagship wines are RODA (known as RODA II prior to 2002) and RODA I, both of Reserva quality. They are differentiated by fruit profile and tannin structure: RODA typically exhibits more red fruit and herbal characteristics and is considered fruitier and more approachable, while RODA I is recognized for its richer blue and black fruit qualities and more firm tannins.
Style: They practice organic farming and 100% estate bottling, and grapes are harvested and sorted by hand. The fruit from each vineyard is vinified separately in large French oak vats, in order to protect the individual nuances of the diverse plots.
Bodegas Roda’s top wines spend anywhere between 12 and 18 months aging in French oak before being bottled unfiltered.
Bodegas y Viñedos Artadi
The Artadi vineyards, situated at elevations averaging 1,700 feet, are all dry-farmed. The vines average more than 35 years of age. Harvest is done manually and the grapes are hand-sorted prior to fermentation. Bottling takes place by gravity and the wines are unfiltered.
Artadi La Poza de Ballesteros: 100% Tempranillo from the La Poza Vineyard. Soils are clay-limestoneand limestone. The wine has flavors of very ripe fruit and dense tannins.
Artadi Valdeginés: 100% Tempranillo from the Valdeginés Vineyard. Soils are lightly compacted clay-limestone with some soft sandstone.
Artadi El Carretil: 100% Tempranillo from El Carretil Vineyard. Soils are clay-limestone over sandstone rock. The wine has flavors of vibrant fruit and fine tannins.
Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España
- The estate was the first to use concrete tanks, and their Monopole wine is the oldest registered white wine in Spain, with its inaugural vintage in 1915.
- Vina Real, Contino. Imperial.
- CVNE works traditionally in many ways, using only estate fruit and employing extended maceration and aging. Yet the winery has been innovative as well, employing concrete tanks, using gravity in the fermentation process, and registering the first white wine in Spain.
Dominio de Pingus
Ribera del Duero
- Danish winemaker Peter Sisseck founded Pingus in 1995.
- Pingus: 100% Tempranillo. Aged in a mix of old and new barrique for 18 months. Inaugural vintage1995.
Flor de Pingus: 100% Tempranillo. Aged in a mix of old and new barrique for about 14 months. Inaugural vintage 1996.
- Sisseck has used solely biodynamic viticulture practices since 2001. His old vines produce very low yields, usually under one ton per acre. The fruit is destemmed prior to fermentation in large wooden vats, where it is left mostly alone. The wines undergo extended maceration, followed by aging in a combination of new and used French barrique. Some stainless steel is used as well. The wine is not fined nor filtered.
Finca Allende
Miguel Angel de Gregorio founded Finca Allende in 1986 in Briones, a town in the prestigious Rioja Alta subregion. From the beginning, his vision was to showcase the varied terroir of the historic Rioja region, so he set out to find and purchase small vineyards with older vines. After gradually purchasing several plots, all featuring different soil types, the winery released its first flagship wine in 1996.
- Aurus, Calvario.
Aurus: 85% Tempranillo, 15% Graciano, from the Aurus Vineyard, which has northern exposure andan average vine age of 60 years. Soil is clay loam with gravel. The wine ages in French barrique fortwo years, with three punchdowns per day. The wine is not fined or filtered. Inaugural vintage 1996.
- Finca Allende uses classic Rioja varieties from estate vineyards. All fruit is hand-harvested and hand-sorted. Allende’s style has also been influenced by modern Rioja techniques, reflected in its preference for estate bottling and use of French barrique for aging.
La Rioja Alta, S.A.
La Rioja Alta is one of the leading high-quality producers in Rioja, committed to traditional Rioja techniques in both the vineyard and the winery.
- Gran Reserva 890, Gran Reserva 904, Vina Ardanza.
Style: La Rioja Alta describes its style as very traditional.They typically destem all of their fruit, use extended maceration techniques, and, in addition to having acooperage onsite, employ the use of American oak for all of their wines. The majority of their wines are of
2/2 Reserva or Gran Reserva quality, but even their Crianza wines see extended aging beyond the legal requirements and can be classified as Reserva.
Tinto Pesquera
Ribera del Duero
The Tinto Pesquera wines are made exclusively with Tempranillo grapes.
- Millenium Gran Reserva, Pesquera Janus Gran Reserva.
Millenium Gran Reserva: 100% Tempranillo from Viña Alta. Aged 30 months in French oak barrels ,then 10 months in bottle. Inaugural vintage 2008.
Tinto Pesquera’s vineyards exist on some of the highest points in the Ribera del Duero region. Fernandez utilizes drip irrigation, which he believes is necessary in warm vintages. All fruit is hand-harvested and undergoes fermentation with natural yeasts. Fernandez never fines nor filters his wines, seeking to maintain their character.
Vega Sicilia
Vega Sicilia is most famous for its flagship wine, Único, which undergoes extended aging, sometimes more than 10 years, and historically was not produced every year.
- Único: At least 80% Tempranillo, the rest a blend of Bordeaux varietals, from low-yielding, 60- to 65-year-old vines. The wine is aged for at least 10 years in barrel and bottle. Before 2010, Único wasfermented in 40,000-liter vats, so it was only made if there was a sufficient quantity of quality grapes.Vega Sicilia now has numerous 8,000-liter wooden vats, so the wine will likely be released every yearmoving forward.
Valbuena 5°: Primarily Tempranillo, with some Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. A younger wine released in every vintage, with grapes from 25- to 35-year-old vines. Fermented in stainless steel and aged for three years in oak followed by two in bottle.
- Style: All fruit for Vega Sicilia wines is estate grown. TheTempranillo vines, making up 80% of the vineyard, are trained
en vaso
. Cabernet Sauvignon is the only grape grown
en espalier.
The estate practices green harvesting in the vineyard, ensuring lower yields and more concentrated fruit, and typically replants after vines reach 65 years of age. Vega Sicilia wines have remained elegant and balanced even as other producers have moved toward more power and new oak. Traditional techniques such as extended maceration and lengthy aging are employed in the cellar, and the winery’s one more modern attribute is its use of Bordeaux varietals in its wines.
