Summary
Marqués de Riscal in Elciego is the oldest estate in Rioja Alavesa and one of the founding fathers of modern Rioja. Established in 1858, it brought Bordeaux-style barrique ageing to the region and bottled its first vintage in 1862. More than 160 years later, the name stands for two things: classically aged Rioja wines such as Reserva, Gran Reserva and the flagship Barón de Chirel – and the City of Wine, whose titanium hotel by Frank Gehry has made the estate one of the wine world's most visited destinations since 2006. With around 500 hectares of estate vines in Rioja Alavesa, further contracted vineyards and Verdejo sites in Rueda, Marqués de Riscal is also one of Spain's great houses.
History
The story begins with Camilo Hurtado de Amézaga, the Marqués de Riscal – diplomat, journalist and liberal, who had spent years in exile in Bordeaux. On his return he wanted to make wine in the French manner on the family property in Elciego. In 1858 he founded the estate and brought cellar master Jean Pineau from Château Lanessan in the Médoc to Rioja. Pineau introduced ageing in 225-litre barriques, careful harvesting and the separation of parcels – techniques barely known in Spain at the time. The first vintage was bottled in 1862; bottles from that year still rest in the estate's historic cellar library, known as the „Cathedral".
Riscal set standards early on. As far back as the 19th century the estate planted Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux – a legacy that lives on in Barón de Chirel today. In 1895 a Marqués de Riscal wine became the first non-French wine to receive the Diploma of Honour at the Bordeaux Exhibition. Because the wines were so sought-after that counterfeiters imitated them, in the 1880s the estate began wrapping bottle and cork in a golden wire mesh – still Riscal's trademark today and the model for many Rioja bottles.
In 1972 the house took a step that changed Spain's white-wine landscape: on the advice of Bordeaux oenologist Émile Peynaud, Riscal went to Rueda and bet on the almost forgotten Verdejo grape, becoming a trailblazer for today's DO Rueda. In 1986 came Barón de Chirel, a new, more concentrated style of Rioja from very old vines. The biggest transformation arrived in 2006 with the opening of the City of Wine and its hotel by Frank Gehry, which turned Elciego into a place of pilgrimage for lovers of wine and architecture.
Location & Terroir
Elciego lies in Rioja Alavesa, the Basque part of Rioja, at around 450 metres between the Ebro and the Sierra de Cantabria. The mountains shield the vineyards from Atlantic cold to the north, while the river and Mediterranean influences from the Ebro valley bring warmth. The result is a temperate climate with marked day-night swings that give Tempranillo freshness, colour and fine tannins.
The soils of Rioja Alavesa are mostly calcareous clay, often on small terraces along the slopes. Riscal farms around 500 hectares of estate vines here, many of them old bush vines around Elciego, Laguardia and neighbouring villages, plus about 900 hectares under contract. For Barón de Chirel the oldest parcels are selected, with vines partly over 80 years old; the Finca Torrea site right beside the winery gives its name to a wine of its own. In Rueda, on the Castilian plateau at around 700 to 800 metres, Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc grow on gravelly, poor soils that yield crisp, aromatic whites.
Style & Philosophy
Marqués de Riscal combines Bordeaux tradition with Rioja identity. As early as the 19th century the house defined itself through barrique ageing and careful handling of the fruit. The classic reds – above all the Reserva, one of the best-selling Rioja wines worldwide – age for a long time in American oak and then in bottle, showing the typical balance of ripe fruit, spice and fine tannins.
At the same time, the estate has reinvented itself again and again: Barón de Chirel, from old vines and with a share of Cabernet Sauvignon, ages in French oak and stands for a concentrated, modern style. The Frank Gehry Selection and Finca Torrea added further top wines, and with the single-vineyard Tapias the estate uses the DOCa Rioja's new Viñedo Singular category. In the vineyards Riscal focuses on sustainable farming; large parts of the Rueda vineyards are now certified organic, and in Rioja the estate is working on conversion.
Notable vineyards & wines
The range runs from everyday classic to icon wine. Among the most important wines are:
- Marqués de Riscal Reserva – the classic from Tempranillo with Graciano and Mazuelo, around two years in American oak
- Gran Reserva – only in great vintages, with long barrel and bottle ageing
- Barón de Chirel Reserva – flagship since 1986 from vines over 80 years old, Tempranillo with Cabernet Sauvignon, around 18 months in French oak
- Finca Torrea – Tempranillo and Graciano from the site of the same name around the City of Wine
- Frank Gehry Selection – limited old-vine Tempranillo, a homage to the architect
- Tapias – single-vineyard wine for the Viñedo Singular category
- Marqués de Riscal Verdejo and Finca Montico – the whites from Rueda, the Limousin Verdejo with oak ageing
The historic Botellería and the cellar library holding every vintage since 1862 are among the highlights of a visit.
Awards
The list of honours begins in 1895 with the Bordeaux Diploma of Honour, which Marqués de Riscal was the first non-French estate to receive. More recently the City of Wine has drawn the spotlight: the restaurant of the Gehry hotel under chef Francis Paniego earned a Michelin star in 2011, and in 2024 the World's Best Vineyards competition named Marqués de Riscal the best vineyard in the world. The wines themselves – above all Barón de Chirel and the Gran Reserva – regularly receive high scores from the international press and feature on wine lists around the globe.
