After years of recovering old vineyards, replanting others and, above all, parcelling the land and understanding an unusual terroir in Rioja, influenced by the gravelly soils and cold temperatures, the brothers launched a collection of wines based on the traditional Rioja classification (Crianza and Reserva) and a series of single vineyard cuvées from selected sites in the estate.

The Hernáiz brothers have turned this first stage around this year to focus on two unique brands, Jardín de La Emperatriz and Finca La Emperatriz, both red and white. In the process, great wines such as Viura Cepas Viejas, Terruño, Parcela nº1, or Garnacha Cepas Viejas, whose grapes now form part of their two new brands, have disappeared: “We had been doing trials since 2014 and the change came about with the 2016 vintage for Finca La Emperatriz and with the 2017 for Jardín de la Emperatriz”.

Finca La Emperatriz looks to the North, to Bordeaux and to the model of the legendary châteaux, but also to the past and to the very roots of the Baños de Rioja terroir. “La Emperatriz is a 100-hectare estate, known as La Viña in the land registry drafted in the mid-18th century by Marqués de la Ensenada and acquired in the 19th century by Eugenia de Montijo, the last Empress of France,” explains Eduardo Hernáiz. “In other words, our background is French, but what really matters is our terroir, which is both unusual and unique, featuring very poor gravel and sandy soils, with very cold climate and particularly cool, Atlantic vintages. These conditions are ideal to produce long-lasting wines with excellent ageing potential, which is precisely what has historically characterised this area of Rioja Alta.”

The red Jardín de la Emperatriz is one of the most highly rated Crianzas in Rioja, while the white shows the extraordinary potential and freshness of the area for this type of wines. Finca La Emperatriz red and white wines are released with the new Vino de Viñedo Singular designation in the 2017 vintage. Both are a selection of the oldest vineyards in the estate and combine Tempranillo with Garnacha and a small amount of Viura in the case of the red, and Viura grapes over 60 years old in the case of the white. Two great wines, elegant and complex, labelled as Reserva.

Viñedos Hernáiz also makes Las Cenizas, a bold red selected from the oldest vineyards in Cenicero, which faithfully captures the village’s terroir, as well as El Pedal, a range of fresh wines sourced from Cenicero, the family’s home village, and other villages in this part of Rioja Alta.

A few years ago, Sancha settled in his village (Baños de Río Tobía) to recover vineyards that were virtually impossible, old historic Garnacha vines from the Alto Najerilla on hillsides that were difficult to access and others that had been condemned to be uprooted. The Alto Najerilla is now one of Rioja’s emerging areas. This would probably never have happened without the input of Juan Carlos Sancha, who has successfully proved that these old Garnachas, historically destined for self-consumption and sold at no added value, can produce extraordinary wines.

Sancha began to make wines in his small winery in 2008. Ad Libitum (at one’s pleasure, at will, as you desire…) is the Latin expression he chose to name one of his three ranges of wines, varietals of Tempranillo Blanco, Maturana Tinta and Maturana Blanca, which he knows like no other. With this commitment to minority varieties, these wines are practically unique in the world. A second range of Bodegas Juan Carlos Sancha is called Peña El Gato and is a very limited series of old Garnachas grown locally featuring a spectacular collection of six different terroirs —all within a three-kilometre radius— made and aged in the same way. Sancha also makes natural wine with no added sulphites and aged in earthenware tinajas and other materials.

The grower has built a viewpoint in one of these old vineyards, Cerro La Isa, which is an essential visit to enjoy wine and share a pleasant chat with the producer and his family. His latest family of wines is actually called Cerro La Isa, red and white, with grapes from this spectacular hillside vineyard, recognised as a Viñedo Singular, and planted by his grandfather more than a hundred years ago: “I have grown vineyards in Rioja, in Ribera del Duero, in La Mancha, in Málaga, in the txakoli area…, but I have never reached the balance that my grandfather achieved with these old vines at Cerro La Isa.”

The producer and his son Iván firmly believe in their village and their wine, Cordovín, so much so that the bodega has been expanded with a view to opening up to wine tourism and to offering meals: “We have introduced the wine in various markets, but we would like people to come and discover our vineyards, our bodega, our countryside,” says Del Río. “We are in the midst of the Route of the Monasteries, between San Millán, Cañas, Nájera and Santo Domingo, so we should also be able to make the most of this interesting tourist triangle.” César del Río has also opened a bodega in the nearby village of Alesanco, hoping to attract tourists and visitors from the Basque Country: “For us, word of mouth has always been very important.”

Since the mid-1990s, the village’s wineries have been making red wines as well. This is also the case of César del Río, who launched the brand Yursun with young unoaked wines made from Tempranillo, Garnacha and a small percentage of Viura, and now also includes a Crianza and a Reserva. Meanwhile, Iván is experimenting with a number of single vineyards that will soon bear fruit: “Climate change might be helping us, because this is a cold area and we wouldn’t have considered making reds 50 years ago.” The fact is that red wines from the Alto Najerilla area, and from Cordovín in particular, are finding recognition in several national and international competitions, especially in warm vintages when ripening is fully completed.

A wine growing family, Martínez Alesanco own 80 hectares of vineyards. The bodega is spearheading a new generation of wines with the new local Maturana Tinta lending its distinctive personality. “Mazuelo and Graciano do not adapt well to our area and the discovery of Maturana, with Professor Fernando Martínez de Toda in 2004, was a real boost for our wines,” says Pilar Torrecilla. In this regard, the winemaker champions Martínez Alesanco Selección as the estate’s great wine, which blends Tempranillo, Maturana Tinta and Garnacha Tinta in practically identical quantities: “Garnacha is not the poor sister of Tempranillo, it is perfectly suitable for ageing if it is grown and handled well; we have talked at length about Maturana, while Tempranillo is very well adapted to this cool area.”

The inquisitiveness of both Pilar and her brother Pedro, now involved in a substantial expansion of the winery to make it more comfortable, has turned Martínez Alesanco into a true workshop of ideas and experimentation. In addition to the traditional range (red, white and clarete, all of them unoaked) and the reds with some ageing (Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva), the winery launched Martínez Alesanco Fermentado en Barrica, a blend of Viura with a small amount of recently planted Tempranillo Blanco. Pilar Torrecilla’s personal challenge is the singular Martínez Alesanco Rosado Fermentado en Barrica, one of the few examples of rosés aged in oak in Rioja. She has recently launched her first organic wine (Garnacha and Tempranillo) as the business moves gradually towards organic production, together with a spectacular old vine Garnacha dating from 1905. Pilar is also exploring the new sparkling wines from Rioja, as the family vineyards are located in an exceptional area for this type of vinification.

Cordovín boasts several distinguishing features that set it apart from other villages, says the producer. “There has never been a cooperative and there has always existed, even before the bodegas settled here, a healthy rivalry between winegrowers to see who made the best wine. It was then sold in demijohns which is the reason why quality has been maintained over the years.”

In any case, the Martínez family has proved that other styles of wines are possible in Cordovín. “In 1993 we produced our first carbonic maceration red; and our first Crianza, from the 1996 vintage, came third in the wine contest held in Laguardia. It was no coincidence; we could and knew how to make reds as well. After winning several national and international awards, we were convinced that our strategy was indeed well-founded”.

As well as its traditional wines (clarete, white and red, all of them unoaked), the winery has created a new collection of wines called Florentius, named after a Mozarab miniaturist who worked in the monasteries of San Millán. With this range, the family pays tribute to Cordovín’s own roots, with Viura and Malvasía as the main varieties, but also with the new authorised grapes such as Tempranillo Blanco and experimental Chardonnay, in one of the most suitable areas for white wines in Rioja thanks to its elevation.

In reds, in addition to Tanka, a Reserva that is released each vintage with an international haiku contest (tanka is the same Japanese composition but with two more verses), they make the Distercio range, named after the mountains of nearby San Millán, where Riojan oak began to be cut into the barrels that Florentino Martínez has been using for years. The family have also released a 100% Maturana Tinta wine and have restored a traditional underground cellar or calado with paintings by Alberto Palomera, an artist from Bilbao.

Finca de los Arandinos exports 70% of its production (just over 70,000 bottles) sourced from the 24 hectares under vine of the estate in Entrena. The winery benefits from the singularity of this part of Rioja but also of the village itself, with north-facing vineyards at some 600 metres above sea level, very close to the Moncalvillo mountain range, and sandstone and gravel soils that are very good at retaining humidity. The result is finely structured wines, with freshness and a style and personality of their own. The range features the following wines: Malacapa, a young red with a brief time in barrels; Finca de los Arandinos, Crianza and Reserva; El Conjuro, the estate’s most powerful wine named after the hill where Entrena is located and after the 2.5 hectares of vineyards surrounding the winery (organically certified); El Tejar, a spectacular wine from four lieu-dits that convey the region’s historic and distinctive Tempranillo; and Viero, a barrel-fermented Viura white.

The greatest accomplishment of Roberto Guillén is that he has been able to close the circle. The architect Javier Arizcuren designed a cube on a mound with spectacular views. It perfectly integrates the 14-room hotel (12 doubles and two suites), a restaurant, a spa and a bodega. Most of the rooms also bear the groundbreaking touch of the late, transgressive designer David Delfín. All have balconies with spectacular views of the vineyards.