Enologist: Jaime de Simón

D.O.C. Rioja

Grapes: 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano

Ageing: Made with a “coupage” (blend) of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano grapes from our best vineyards. Low-temperature fermentation and 24-month ageing in selected French (60%) and American (40%) oak casks. Bottled in March 2007.

Tasting Notes:
Cherry red with a medium-high layer, with garnet shades at the edge of the glass. Clean and translucent. Ripe red fruits (morello and black cherries) enveloped in natural coffee and chocolate notes. Hints of spices such as black pepper and ginger. Nuances of fine woods. Complex and very spicy. Mild on entry. While moving over the tongue potent, meaty, enveloping and complex. Long, elegant finish. In the aftertaste nuances of red fruits, chocolate and spices emerge. Very well balanced between acidity, tannins and alcohol. 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.