At A Glance
- Field
- Detail
- Region
- Rioja Alta, La Rioja
- Appellation
- Rioja
- Main grapes
- Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Garnacha
- Signature wine
- Marqués de Vargas Rioja Gran Reserva 2016
- Defining feature
- Estate Reservas and Gran Reservas from Hacienda Pradolagar
The Producer
The family’s vineyard history at Hacienda Pradolagar begins in 1840, when Don Felipe De la Mata planted the first vineyards there. Marqués de Vargas describes its wine lineage as spanning four generations.
Pelayo de la Mata and his brothers built the winery on the family estate in Rioja Alta in 1989. The house follows a French château model, making Reservas and Gran Reservas exclusively from grapes grown in its own nearby vineyard.
The winery’s Rioja wines have also received Viñedo Singular classification. Hacienda Pradolagar remains the named estate behind the house’s single estate Gran Reserva.
Place
The winery stands at Carretera Zaragoza km 6 in Logroño, La Rioja, amid its own vineyards in the Ebro Valley area known as Tres Marqueses. Hacienda Pradolagar is divided into 32 parcels by soil, climate and grape variety.
That parcel division separates the vineyard into smaller units before the grapes reach the cellar. The estate’s vines are between 33 and 50 years old and are cultivated without herbicides or pesticides.
Wines
Marqués de Vargas builds its range around Reservas and Gran Reservas made solely from estate grapes. The Rioja winery also produces three limited production single vineyard red wines, bringing narrow vineyard bottlings into the wider ageing program.
Marqués de Vargas Rioja Gran Reserva 2016 is a red single estate wine composed of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Mazuelo and 5% Garnacha. Its maturation combines French oak with a smaller proportion of American oak during the second ageing phase.
In The Glass
The Gran Reserva opens with concentrated black fruit. Spice from prolonged ageing follows, with subtle balsamic notes that add freshness and balance.
The palate is full bodied, with highly polished tannins and a long finish. The 2016 Gran Reserva combines French and American oak and shows sweet coconut notes. The wine has substantial ageing potential.
A Bottle To Understand It
Choose Marqués de Vargas Rioja Gran Reserva 2016. It puts the estate vineyard, the Gran Reserva category and Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Garnacha on one label.
It is a single estate red from Hacienda Pradolagar, keeping vineyard source, ageing category and grape composition together in one bottle.
Final Word
Marqués de Vargas joins a Rioja Alta family lineage with Hacienda Pradolagar and a French château inspired program of estate grown Reservas and Gran Reservas. Its range also includes limited production single vineyard reds.
Sources
- www.marquesdevargas.com/en/about-us
- riojawine.com/en-us/bodegas-rioja/bodegas-y-vinedos-del-marques-de-vargas
- www.gruporioja.es/en/grupo-vinicola-marques-de-vargas
- www.marquesdevargas.com/en/bodegas/bodega-marques-vargas/marques-de-vargas-gran-reserva
- www.systembolaget.se/produkt/vin/7652101
- www.marquesdevargas.com/es/sin-categoria/tim-atkin-encumbra-la-anada-2016-de-marques-de-vargas