Marqués de Riscal Rioja Reserva

All Marques de Riscal Reserva wines are made entirely from Tempranillo grapes planted in the 1970s on the finest clay-limestone soils of Rioja Alavesa. Tempranillo wines from this region benefit greatly from maturation in wood and aging in the bottle thanks to their good acidity and fine tannins. The Graciano and Mazuelo grapes add freshness and intense colour. This classic Rioja is aged for two years in American oak barrels and at least one year in the bottle. A truly typical Rioja with notes of black pepper, cinnamon and coconut. Soft tannins and concentrated fruit. The mesh around the bottle was originally introduced to prevent counterfeiting. Bottles used to be refilled and sold as originals; with a broken mesh this was no longer possible. Marques de Riscal is the oldest winery in Rioja. In 1858 the first cellar was built and since then this estate has been a benchmark in the wine world thanks to the standard it set, both for Rioja and Rueda wines. They were the first to age Rioja wine in wooden barrels, which eventually gave the wines their distinctive style – now the benchmark for every Rioja wine. And in Rueda, it was Marques de Riscal who discovered that the local Verdejo grape could produce a beautifully fresh and fruity wine by avoiding oxygen as much as possible during winemaking, instead of the oxidative wines that had been made from this grape until then. All producers in Rueda have followed that example, resulting in a new wine style that has now become extremely popular among wine lovers everywhere.