Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Tempranillo
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The winery’s flagship wine, the 2021 Reserva has a highly appealing spicy balsamic character and an undertone of freshness highlighted by the addition of 3% Graciano. A solid 20 months in American oak provides structure and toasty notes to the ripe, full-bodied creaminess of the wine, rich in red and black cherry fruit that’s textured and layered throughout supple, silky tannins. This is a classic, ready to go another 10-15 years.
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James Suckling
A combination of licorice, blackberries and cherries on the nose, a floral element emerging as the wine evolves. The medium- to full-bodied palate is incisive with polished, focused tannins and a clean, chiseled finish. Uncomplicated. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe mulberry and boysenberry fruit is accented by wild thyme, warm spices, mineral and mandarin orange peel in this well-balanced red, with light, taut tannins. Tempranillo and Graciano.
Wines of the Herederos de Marqués de Riscal has always been a leading and pioneering company in the wine producing sector. In 1858, it became the first winery in the Rioja to produce wines following the Bordeaux method and in 1972, it was the first winery to promote the Rueda Designation of Origin, where it produced its famous Marqués de Riscal white wines. Marqués de Riscal sells its products in over 70 countries and its wines have enjoyed the highest international distinctions as well as numerous awards and mentions in the media. Showcasing design, art, gastronomy, wine and the lush landscape all combine to create a memorable sojour… The vision of Frank O. Gehry was to create a 21st century château, an icon for one of the oldest wineries in the Rioja region, Vinos de los Herederos de Marqués de Riscal that connect the historic legacy with the modern art and wine nature. The building is a composition of rectilinear prisms that float above the ground by three super columns that support the building. The building rises nine meters above the ground and crosses the underground wine store of Marqués de Riscal to support itself with the three super columns. This allows spectacular views in all levels, to see the vineyards, Elciego, and the mountains of the Sierra de Cantabria as a background. Everything is wrapped in cascades of titanium (Canopies) colored in pink, gold and silver symbolizing the reddish hues of red wine, the mesh of the wine bottle of Marqués de Riscal and the capsule of the bottle
Hailed as the star red variety in Spain’s most celebrated wine region, Tempranillo from Rioja, or simply labeled, “Rioja,” produces elegant wines with complex notes of red and black fruit, crushed rock, leather, toast and tobacco, whose best examples are fully capable of decades of improvement in the cellar.
Rioja wines are typically a blend of fruit from its three sub-regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta and Alavesa, at the highest elevations, are considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier, Rioja Oriental, produce wines with deep color, great body and richness.