Home Tasting articles
Spain Rioja phylloxera Tempranillo

Rioja Alavesa – looking back

Ferran Centelles
Ferran Centelles
Thursday 9 March 2023
A sommelier carries ancient bottles of Rioja from the cellars of Marques de Riscal in Rioja

Part one of a two-part article exploring Rioja Alavesa, this one focused on the region's history as told through an incredible tasting of Marqués de Riscal wines, the oldest dating to 1862. See also part two, focusing on Bideona.

Part one: Marqués de Riscal

If there is one place in Spain where any wine connoisseur would like to find themselves, it is Riscal’s historic-bottle cellar. In the darkness beneath its vaulted ceilings are 130,000 historic bottles preserved in perfect condition. Every 20 years the winery opens some of these liquid relics, usually to commemorate or celebrate an important event....