Summary
Bodegas Valdemar in Oyón is one of the most tradition-rich family wineries of Rioja Alavesa – and at the same time one of the most curious. The roots of the Martínez Bujanda family go back to 1889; the present-day bodega emerged in the 1980s, when father and son Jesús Martínez Bujanda completely realigned the business and created the Conde Valdemar brand. Today Jesús and Ana Martínez Bujanda run the house in the fifth generation, farm around 275 to 300 hectares of estate vineyards and have made a name for themselves with pioneering achievements: barrel-fermented white wine, single-varietal rarities such as Graciano and Maturana Tinta, the first inclusive winery in Europe and a sister estate in Walla Walla, USA.
History
It all began in 1889 with Joaquín Martínez Bujanda, who started making wine in Oyón with around ten hectares of vines. His son Marcelino and grandson Jesús carried the business on for decades as a typical Rioja family bodega – the old cellar today serves as a small wine museum.
The decisive turning point came in the 1980s: Jesús Martínez Bujanda (third generation) and his son of the same name, today president of the house, built a modern winery in Oyón and reinvented the business as Bodegas Valdemar. With the Conde Valdemar brand – the first vintages date from the mid-1980s – the family positioned itself as a modern, export-oriented Rioja producer. Bodegas Valdemar is considered one of the first wineries in Europe to control fermentation temperatures by computer, and in 1988, by its own account, it released the first barrel-fermented white wine of Rioja with Finca Alto Cantabria.
After a division of the family holdings in the 2000s – Finca Valpiedra and other estates went to another branch of the family – Bodegas Valdemar has since concentrated as an independent company on Rioja and, with the Fincas Valdemacuco, on Ribera del Duero. In 2016 Jesús and Ana Martínez Bujanda, the fifth generation, travelled to Washington State for the first time; in 2019 they opened Valdemar Estates in Walla Walla – the first Spanish bodega with its own winery in the USA.
Location & Terroir
Oyón lies on the southern edge of Rioja Alavesa, just a few kilometres north of Logroño, where the foothills of the Sierra de Cantabria flatten out towards the Ebro. The Sierra shields the vineyards from cold northerly winds, while the altitude and the marked difference between day and night temperatures ensure slow ripening and fresh acidity.
The family today owns around 275 to 300 hectares of vineyards spread across several fincas, all lying above 400 metres. The focus is on Rioja Alavesa with its calcareous clay and sandy soils. The best-known vineyard is Finca Alto Cantabria on a plateau above the Ebro: here Viura vines planted in 1974 grow on calcareous, sandy-loam ground – the vineyard has since been officially recognised as a Viñedo Singular of DOCa Rioja. Added to this is a large holding of over 100 hectares in the Ocón valley in Rioja Oriental, whose stony parcels lie at 528 to 641 metres and have been acquired piece by piece since 1982.
Style & Philosophy
The family motto is ‘Siempre pioneros’ – always pioneers. It describes the house style fairly precisely: Valdemar makes classic, approachable Rioja wines with clean fruit and well-integrated oak, yet is constantly trying something new. The house is considered the first bodega to bottle a single-varietal Garnacha Reserva in Rioja and still works with rare native varieties such as Graciano, Maturana Tinta and Tempranillo Blanco.
For Tempranillo, head winemaker Antonio Orte relies on ripe but not overripe grapes and on ageing in American and French oak barriques; the Reserva and Gran Reserva wines rest considerably longer than the DOCa requires. The whites are partly fermented in barrique and aged on the fine lees – giving them texture without losing freshness.
Sustainability is the second focus: the family publishes its own sustainability report and works towards vineyard ecosystems that use resources as sparingly as possible. And then there is inclusion: since 2018 Bodegas Valdemar has been the first winery in Europe whose visitor experience was conceived from the very beginning as 100% accessible and inclusive – not adapted afterwards, but built so that all guests can experience the same tours and tastings. The concept was carried over to Walla Walla, where Valdemar Estates is regarded as the only fully inclusive winery in the USA to date.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range is organised into clearly distinct lines:
- Conde Valdemar – the classic Rioja line: young red, Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva and an Edición Limitada; plus a fresh white from Viura and Verdejo as well as rosé
- Conde Valdemar Finca Alto Cantabria – barrel-fermented Viura from the Viñedo Singular of the same name, the signature white of the house since 1988; repeatedly counted among the best whites of Rioja by critics such as Tim Atkin and Wine Enthusiast
- Inspiración Valdemar – the line for single-varietal rarities and small editions: Las Seis Alhajas (Graciano), Balcón de Pilatos (Maturana Tinta), La Recaja (Tempranillo)
- La Gargantilla – small editions from Garnacha Blanca, including a Rosado Espumoso
- Finca del Marquesado – the family's separate fincas line
- Fincas Valdemacuco – the offshoot in Ribera del Duero
Around 180,000 cases leave the bodega every year; the wines are exported to more than 55 countries.
Awards
For its inclusive wine tourism concept, Bodegas Valdemar received the Best Of International award of the Great Wine Capitals in 2020; in 2021 – jointly with Valdemar Estates – it followed up with the Global Best Of Wine Tourism Award in the innovation category. Finca Alto Cantabria was officially recognised as a Viñedo Singular of DOCa Rioja, and the white of the same name regularly appears in the rankings of Tim Atkin and Wine Enthusiast as one of the best whites in the region. The family celebrated its 130th anniversary in 2019 – the same year in which it opened a new chapter in Walla Walla.
