River stones, old vines, a sunset tasting and a night of tapas in Logroño with Familia Martínez Bujanda
Rioja is one of those regions I keep coming back to – it was one of the first Spanish appellations I really fell in love with, and every visit teaches me something new about Tempranillo. This summer I finally made it to Finca Valpiedra, the Rioja jewel of Familia Martínez Bujanda, a family that has been making wine since 1889, when Joaquín Martínez Bujanda planted his first vineyards in Oyón, in Rioja Alavesa. Five generations later the family runs estates in Rioja, Rueda and La Mancha – Finca Valpiedra, Finca Montepedroso and Finca Antigua – and Valpiedra is the one built like a true château: a single 80-hectare vineyard on one of the great meanders of the Ebro, between Fuenmayor and Cenicero, with every bottle made only from its own grapes. The vines grow on three terraces stepping down to the river at around 400 metres, sheltered by the Sierra de Cantabria to the north and the Sierra de la Demanda to the south. And then there are the stones: the soils are covered in rounded river pebbles (cantos rodados) sitting over layers of limestone – the stones store the day's heat, help ripening and keep the moisture in, and they give the estate its name, Val-piedra, the "valley of stone". No surprise that Finca Valpiedra is a member of Grandes Pagos de España.
From the very first minute it felt less like a winery visit and more like being welcomed into a family – joyful, warm, generous and so very Spanish. They didn't just show us their wines and their cellars, they shared their families, their food and their traditions. We started outside, walking among the old bush vines with the Ebro shining below us, and I could not stop looking at the ground – a carpet of pebbles that looks more like the Southern Rhône than Rioja – and at the white limestone banks where the roots dig down. Inside, the winery works plot by plot, with small tanks for each parcel and variety, concrete vats for the Garnacha and an impressive cellar of French and American oak barrels. The tasting happened on the terrace at sunset, with the vineyards turning gold in front of us. We opened with Montepedroso Enoteca, the family's Verdejo from Rueda aged on its lees: smoky and saline, with fennel and hay and a creamy, textured palate that stays fresh. Cantos de Valpiedra is the joyful, approachable face of the estate – crunchy red cherry and raspberry, a touch of sweet spice and juicy, easy tannins. Petra de Valpiedra, 100% Garnacha, showed bright strawberry, red flowers and a lovely stony freshness. But the star for me was Finca Valpiedra Reserva 2018 (Tempranillo with a little Graciano and Maturana Tinta, 24 months in French oak): deep and elegant, with black cherry, plum and blackberry, incense, cedar and blond tobacco, a mineral, almost graphite-like core, fine-grained tannins and a long, savoury finish – 93 points from The Wine Advocate and, in my opinion, a Rioja Reserva with many years ahead of it. We also tasted the Finca Antigua range from La Mancha, a great reminder of how well this family over-delivers on value. And the day didn't end there: at night we went on a tapas hop through Logroño, the capital of Rioja, from one little bar to the next. Logroño is a historic place not only for wine but also for the spirit – a major stop on the Camino de Santiago – and you can feel it in its small, narrow streets. We tasted everything local, tapas style, and it simply blew our minds and our taste buds away. It was magical.
A huge thank you to Carlos Martínez Bujanda, Marta Santander Martínez Bujanda, Adrián Martínez Bujanda Baquerín, Lauren Rosillo and Diego Martínez, and to the whole Familia Martínez Bujanda team and family, for the warm welcome, the time in the vineyard, the generous tasting and an unforgettable night in Logroño – it was one of the most beautiful days of my summer.
Importers, distributors and restaurants interested in working with Finca Valpiedra and the wines of Familia Martínez Bujanda are welcome to contact STOVINO via the Contact form on the website or via Instagram/Facebook.
Salute, Finca Valpiedra!
For further info, please visit the website https://familiamartinezbujanda.com