Rioja - Spain
- Jacqueline de Gouw
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Viticulture was established in La Rioja centuries ago. Well before the beginning of time, colonists from Lebanon and Syria introduced viticulture to the Spanish region. When perhaps the most famous wine drinkers in history, the Romans, set foot on the soil of La Rioja, wine consumption—and therefore production—was significantly boosted. The phylloxera, which caused significant damage in France around 1870, forced wine merchants to explore other lands. They arrived in La Rioja, creating the final precondition for the wines' modern-day fame.
The Cantaberan Mountains provide natural protection for the vineyards in the Ebro Valley. The cool, moist sea breeze from the north coast protects the grapes. Moreover, the relatively poor limestone and clay soil on these slopes is ideal for viticulture.
The Roja region is divided into three regions: the western Rioja Alta, the eastern Rioja Oriental (Baja), and the Rioja Alavesa, which covers a small part of the region in the north, with Haro as its capital. La Rioja is characterized by its two rivers: the Ebro and the Rio Oja, after which the region is named. And, of course, the robust wines!
Rioja wine DOCa (Tempranillo/Garnacha/Garganega) is classified by age as Joven, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva.
Bodegas Bilbainas
In the north of Logroño, in Haro, lies the Bodegas Bilbainas vineyard. Situated in the most prestigious enclave of Rioja Alta wineries, the 250-hectare estate feeds the winery with its own grapes, making it one of the largest and most excellent vineyards in the Rioja region. The Tertiary soils, composed of limestone, marl, and sandstone (unique characteristics in northern Rioja Alta), and the climatic mix of mild Mediterranean and Atlantic influences, resulting in excellent harvests, are ideal for the production of aging wines.
This winery actually consists of three estates: Vina Pomal, La Vicalanda, and Vina Zaco, of which Vina Pomal is the oldest. The winery's origins date back to 1859, when Savignon Frères & Cie. established itself in Haro, fleeing the phylloxera that was ravaging Gallic vineyards. In 1901, a group of entrepreneurs from Bilbao acquired the winery and founded Bodegas Bilbainas.
Viña Pomal was conceived by Don Santiago de Ugarte, co-founder of Bodegas Bilbainas and the company's first general manager. The first label to feature Viña Pomal as a denomination belongs to a Special Reserve from the 1904 vintage (a truly exceptional vintage).
Although they would later merge into a single brand, Castle Pomal was also born in 1904, along with Viña Pomal. This, intended for the British market, demonstrates the brand's international significance, and its continued importance. Interestingly, only Castle Pomal's labels feature the coat of arms of the Spanish Royal Family, for which the winery was the official wine supplier.
Bodegas Bilbaínas combines both traditional practices and other practices characteristic of the most advanced viticulture to guarantee the highest quality. Among the former are manual pruning, green pruning, manual stripping, grape removal, and manual harvesting. Among the latter: precision viticulture, or the technique of sexual confusion to combat pests.
Viña Pomal is one of the most exceptional and traditional wines in the country. A faithful wine, like few others, in the classic style of authentic Rioja. The excellent characteristics of the vineyard, owned by the same winery, the careful selection of the grapes – 100% Tempranillo – and the careful aging process in American oak barrels give Viña Pomal its unique style, placing it as a benchmark among Rioja wines.
Since its first appearance in 1908, Viña Pomal has been able to adapt to new times without losing sight of the original characteristics that have given it recognition and prestige: elegant, balanced and delicate notes of aging.
Urbina wineries
Family winery located in Cuzcurrita del río Tirón with more than 150 years of history.
Salvador Urbina moved to Cuzcurrita in 1870 and produced the first wines, with vineyards still used in Urbina wines today.
His sons Ciriaco and Paquita continue the trade, and it is Pedro and Jesús Angel, grandchildren of Salvador, who started production in the current cellar in stainless steel tanks in 1986.
Currently, the fourth generation, Angel, Pedro and Santiago, run the winery - they are professionals in the sector (catadores, researchers, engineers and doctors), and together have a wealth of winemaking experience.
Produced exclusively organically with grapes from our own vineyards in the Rioja Alta, in Cuzcurrita del Río Tirón and the Singular Vineyard Valle del Ángel.
The grapes are grown in bush vines (gobelet) and double cordon bushes with limited yields. Indigenous yeasts are used in vinification, giving the wine a unique personality, reflecting the complexity of Urbina wineries.
Bodegas Urbina produces a total of 300,000 bottles of red wine (Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva) and 50,000 bottles of Blanco and Rosado. Classic and elegant with excellent aging potential, these fine wines are full-bodied, consistent, and pleasant.
Wines with DOC Rioja from its own vineyards in Cuzcurrita del Río Tirón, the westernmost part of the denomination and Uruñuela, in the heart of the DOC
Of course, their wines are in my range and for sale through the wine shop on the website.
Vina Tondonia
Bodegas Lopez de Heredia is one of the world's great wine treasures. Founded in 1877 by Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta, the winery was built near the Haro train station in Rioja. This location is geographically symbolic and important for its proximity to the Bordeaux region, and practically useful for the transport of both grapes and wine.
Mr. López established the legendary Tondonia vineyards on the alluvial slopes overlooking the Ebro River, on the edge of the Alta and Alavesa wine regions. A visionary and romantic, his ambitions were impressive and included architectural plans almost reminiscent of the Sagrada Familia. Both buildings are indeed unfinished, but both are iconic, not least for their Babel-like scale.
Their famous watchtower in Haro is a large monument and, as the name suggests and its intended purpose dictates, a good place to observe the vines' progress throughout the seasons. It's known locally as the Txori-Toki, the Basque term for a birdhouse.
The Lopez de Heredia estate covers 170 hectares and four autonomous vineyards, of which Tondonia is both the largest (70 hectares) and the most famous. The other three are Cubillo, Bosconia, and Gravonia; each has a distinctive terroir and appearance, and different wine styles.
In terms of grape varieties, the red wines are dominated by Tempranilo, but there are also old vines of Graciano, Garnacha, and Mazuelo. The white grapes come from both Viura and Malvasia, with more of the former planted, some of which are extremely old.
One hallmark of Vina Tandonia is, of course, the use of oak, whether in the large barrels used for fermentation or the Bordeaux barrels for aging, of which there are over 14,000 in the winery's labyrinthine cellars. New oak is avoided, and the majority, but not all, of the barrels are sourced from America. An in-house cooperage ensures that specifications are met, and the aging regime tends towards the longer end of the scale, albeit within the limits prescribed by the laws of the Denomination.
Reserva and Gran Reserva red and white wines are treated in the same way, with frequent racking as needed, egg-white bucking, and unfiltered bottling. A further stylistic key is the extensive aging of the bottles prior to release. Cash flow is certainly not king in Tondonia; the quest for perfection is paramount, and the wine, unlike that from some other regions, is only released when it is ready. And the quality is such that the top wines maintain this plateau of perfection for years and years, often decades. A fascinating tasting of old white and red Riojas at The World of Fine Wine in 2011 confirmed this fact; the older star wines were mostly from Tondonia (with one or two from Riscal, admittedly), and the standout vintages were 1945, 1964, and the relatively young 1970!
Lopez de Heredia wines aren't all old and venerable, and it's wonderful that the younger examples, while retaining the house style and elegant warmth one expects from fine Rioja, possess an exuberant freshness and accessibility one might not have expected from this source. In other words, the entire wine family impresses; Lopez de Heredia offers the perfect antidote to global wine homogeneity with a range that is challenging and diverse, cerebral yet sensual.
Marques de Murietta
The origins of the Marqués de Murrieta winery are also the origins of Rioja. Don Luciano Murrieta, applying techniques learned in Bordeaux, produced the first Rioja wine in 1852, intending to continue to exist.
Don Luciano was clear from the beginning that a wine of Rioja quality and a good aging potential would be exported outside Spain. For this reason, he didn't hesitate to send that legendary 1852 vintage to countries like Mexico and Cuba, becoming the first Rioja to be exported.
At Ygay Castle, noble materials and the latest technologies blend in a perfect union, making Europe's oldest industrial building a benchmark for modernity and balance.
Due to its historical importance to the world of wine, its heritage and the architecture of the building itself, the Castle of Ygay, and thus the headquarters of the Marqués de Murrieta, was declared a museum in 2019.
Since 1983, the Cebrián-Sagarriga family has been in charge of Marqués de Murrieta Estates & Wines, a family steeped in good work and daily effort. A few brothers with a Galician heart who think of their parents every day with affection and gratitude:
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