Enologist: Jaime de Simón

D.O.C. Rioja

Grapes: Viura

Ageing:
The grapes are selected by hand and gently pressed, and the resulting must is thoroughly cleared; then it ferments in new French oak casks, where it is kept on its lees for 6 months, with weekly “batonnages” (stirrings) to keep the lees in suspension. Finally it is fined, filtered and bottled, without undergoing cold treatments.

Tasting Notes:
Soft yellow with greenish lights. Very clean and translucent. Flowers and sweet fruits, pear, grapefruit rind, together with mild toasted nuances and sweet spices such as vanilla. On the attack it's velvety and satiny. As it moves over the tongue, the acidity begins to be perceived and hints of grapefruit and mandarin peel start to emerge, accompanying the mild aromas of the wood in which it aged. Long and silky.  Importers Notes

Additional Information

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.