Cigales producer behind La Renacida, a mixed vineyard red made with whole clusters and French oak foudre ageing.
The producer
Finca Museum was established in 2000 after Grupo Barón de Ley looked beyond Rioja. Based outside Cigales in Valladolid province, the estate grew through gradual vineyard purchases from local growers to more than 200 hectares. Its estate wine La Renacida comes from gobelet trained vines planted in 1927, with Tempranillo, Mencía, Garnacha forms, Albillo and Verdejo growing together. The 2022 wine fermented in whole clusters without added yeast and spent one year with its lees in large French oak foudres.
Known for
Mixed vineyard Cigales reds
Notable facts
Finca Museum was established in 2000 after Grupo Barón de Ley decided to expand beyond Rioja.
The estate grew through gradual purchases from local growers to more than 200 hectares.
La Renacida's vines were planted in 1927 and trained in gobelet.
Most of Finca Museum's vines are more than 50 years old.
La Renacida is made in 5,000 litre French oak foudres.
The story
Beyond Rioja
In the late 1990s, Grupo Barón de Ley decided to expand beyond Rioja. Finca Museum was established in 2000, with agricultural engineer Tomás Jurío leading the project and the search for vineyards. The winery grew through gradual purchases from local growers until the estate covered more than 200 hectares. Jurío supervised the winery's construction and the planting and selection of its vineyards. La Renacida became part of the estate wine tier.
From the atlas
Finca Museum
Finca Museum is based outside Cigales in Valladolid province, with La Renacida made from a mixed vineyard of more than ten grape varieties.
At A Glance
Field
Detail
Location
Outside Cigales, Valladolid province
Appellation
Cigales
Main grape
Tempranillo, locally called Tinta Fina
Signature wine
La Renacida Finca Museum
Defining cellar vessel
French oak foudres holding 5,000 litres
The Producer
Grupo Barón de Ley looked beyond Rioja in the late 1990s, and Finca Museum was established in 2000. Agricultural engineer Tomás Jurío led the project and the search for vineyards. The winery sits outside Cigales in Valladolid province. Local growers sold vineyards gradually, and the estate grew to more than 200 hectares.
Finca Museum's estate wine tier includes La Renacida. The wine comes from a mixed vineyard where Tempranillo grows alongside Mencía, Garnacha forms, Albillo and Verdejo. Its cellar work combines whole cluster fermentation without added yeast, minimal intervention and ageing with lees in French oak foudres.
Place
Cigales lies a short distance from Valladolid and a few kilometres from Ribera del Duero. The appellation has a continental climate under Atlantic influence. Continental conditions generally bring hot summers and marked changes between day and night, while Atlantic influence can soften those extremes.
Cigales is historically associated with clarete rosé and old vineyards dominated by Tempranillo, locally called Tinta Fina. That regional history places La Renacida among wines made from the area's traditional red grape alongside other varieties planted in the same vineyard.
Wines
Finca Museum's range places La Renacida Finca Museum in its estate wine tier. It is a red Cigales wine from the 2022 vintage. The vineyard was planted in 1927, with gobelet trained vines on extremely poor soil at 800 metres, over gravel and pebbles on a sandy loam matrix. The yield is between 2,000 and 3,000 kilograms per hectare.
Tempranillo, Mencía, several Garnacha forms, Albillo and Verdejo grow together there. For the 2022 wine, the grapes ferment in whole clusters without added yeast and with minimal intervention. Whole cluster fermentation leaves stems with the grapes, a technique that can bring perfume and spice while changing tannin feel.
The wine spends one year with its lees in large French oak foudres. Lees are spent yeast cells, and contact with them can add texture and savoury depth. The foudres used for La Renacida hold 5,000 litres.
Final Word
Most of Finca Museum's vines are more than 50 years old, and heat retaining pebbles contribute to very low yields. Vineyard work is manual, with sheep manure based organic conditioner in place of chemical fertilizers, and hand harvested grapes arrive at the sorting table in small boxes.