Tasting with Pablo.

Address: Herrería 76, Villabuena 01307 (Alava) Spain
Phone: (+34) 945 60 90 85
Website: www.valserrano.com

The Bodega dates back to the second half of the 19th century, when Francisco Javier Solano y Eulate, the ‘Marquis de la Solana’ and owner of a large area of vineyards in Villabuena, decided, on the advice of the famous oenologist from Bordeaux, Msr. Pineau, to begin making and aging his wines according to methods imported from Médoc and to start selling them in bottles, after aging, under the label ‘Marqués de la Solana’.
 
Following the enlargement of the bodega’s underground ‘calados’ or caves, the importation of the first wine-making machinery and the introduction of oak casks from Bordeaux, the wines started to win major awards, such as the silver medal at the Logroño Exhibition in 1898 and the gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in Barcelona in 1929.
 
On the death of the Marquis, his property was inherited by his daughters, Mª Teresa and María Solano (grandmother of the current owners), who changed the name of the bodega to Bodegas de Crianza S.M.S. (the abbreviation of the family surnames).
 
Nowadays, the bodega, which changed its name once again in 1996 to Viñedos y Bodegas de la Marquesa, continues to be a family firm and is owned by Juan Pablo de Simón and his brothers, while the next generation, Pablo and Jaime de Simón (Juan Pablo’s sons) are preparing to take over the running of the company in the future.

At Bodegas de la Marquesa approximately 400,000 kg of grapes per year on the family’s 65 hectares of vineyards are grown. All vineyards are located in the Municipality of Villabuena, and run from the sunny lower slopes of the Cantabrian Mountain Range, which protects them from the north, to the banks of the River Ebro to the south-southwest.

In accordance with our basic criterion of ensuring the quality and character of our wines, a number of very old vineyards with a low production level are cultivated at the same time as new plantations enter into production. The average age of our vineyards is over 25 years.

As a result of the same criterion of giving priority to our wines’ ‘defining character’, a significant percentage of production focuses on some of the least common varieties of grape in La Rioja:

GRACIANO: A native Riojan variety which has a low yield, is highly aromatic and is ideal for long aging processes, due to its consistently high acidity level and its colour stability.

MAZUELO: Similar to the Carignan variety, it produces musts with a good colour and consistent acidity that are rich in tannins with aromas characteristic of hay and aromatic herbs.

VIURA: A white grape grown only in the higher, poorer areas of some vineyards, and used only for our fermented, cask-aged white wines.

And of course, our main variety:
TEMPRANILLO, the cornerstone of all La Rioja’s great wines, which reaches its highest level of colour, aroma and body in this particular region.

The bodega’s collection of casks encompasses 2,500 units made from 50% American oak and 50% French oak from different forests, manufactured by the best coopers in Bordeaux and Burgundy. In 2004 the Bodega gained the ISO 9001-2000 and the BRC Global Standard Food certificates which ensure the Quality Management System in all processes and products.