Spain’s Wine Nobility

The golden age for the noble families of Europe extended from the middle ages through to the 18th Century. The aristocracy flourished with hereditary titles such as Duke, Marquis or Baron bestowed by the ruling monarch. Considered to be just one step removed from royalty, the title holders were endowed with various privileges including land ownership and the collection of rents and taxes.

Titles were passed down through generations, but from the 18th century onward the rise of the bourgeoisie – the middle-classes – saw privileges gradually being stripped away from aristocrats (think French Revolution). In most of Europe today such titles are mainly symbolic.

But many families do retain their titles, acquired wealth, and land. They remain part of an elite, with social networks that give them influence. A significant number are also involved in the production of wine, from the Barone Ricasoli in Tuscany, to Domaine du Duc de Magenta in Burgundy.

When is an Aristocrat not an Aristocrat?

Despite the rise of the Second Spanish Republic in the 1930s, the titles of Spanish noble families are enshrined in law to this day (though conferring no special privileges). There are many Spanish wines bearing the noble title Marqués on the label, though that doesn’t always mean a noble family is behind the business. The brand Marqués de Caceres, for example, is just that: a brand name invented in the 1970s when the business was founded as a cooperative cellar.

Back to the Land

For the nobility, extensive country estates supported farming and hunting. As their privileges continued to be eroded during the 19th century, turning their land ownership into profitable and sustainable businesses became increasingly important. More and more noble families planted vines. The high prices paid for the wines of Bordeaux was a particular source of inspiration.

Noble families continue to play a part in modern-day Spanish wines. In 1852, Luciano de Murrieta returned to Rioja from travels in Bordeaux to study winemaking techniques, determined to make wine in that style. The King of Spain, Amadeo de Saboya, granted him the title of Marqués. When his bodega at Finca Ygay was established in 1872, Marqués de Murrieta was born. Other land-owning nobility trod a similar path at the time, including the Marqués de Riscal, established in 1862.

Ironically, it was Bordeaux’s greatest natural disaster that led to a surge of interest in the wines of Rioja, encouraging more and more families to establish wine estates. Phylloxera devastated the vineyards of Bordeaux from around 1870, rampaging for almost 20 years. Seeking to keep their markets alive as output dwindled, Bordeaux merchants looked south to Rioja where wines were now being made in a similar style. The golden age for Rioja had begun, with some of the region’s most noble families involved in wine production, including the houses below.

Marqués de Murrieta

It is fitting to start with Marqués de Murrieta given the part that Don Luciano de Murrieta had played. On his return from the Médoc he applied the concept of a Bordeaux Château to his Finca Ygay estate, making wine only from grapes grown in his own vineyards. At its heart he built his own ‘Château’, the Castillo Ygay, now also the name of Marqués de Murrieta’s most famous wine. The winemaking techniques of Bordeaux were applied to the local Tempranillo variety to great effect, particularly the practice of ageing in small oak barrels.

Today Vicente D. Cebrián-Sagarriga, the 11th Count of Creixell, is President of Marqués de Murrieta, running the 300-hectare estate alongside his sister. Born in 1970, Vicente has continued the work of his father, the 10th Count, who died suddenly at the age of 47. He has overseen a meticulous programme of restoration, updating the historic castle and facilities, but also building a new wine cellar.

Head winemaker, Maria Vargas, is also part of the modernising story here, and leads a new team put in place by the current regime. She is intent on fusing 160 years of history with contemporary techniques in vineyard and winery, to achieve even more precision and finesse in the wines.

Marqués de Murrieta is a truly international brand, with around 70% of production exported. A 100-point score from The Wine Advocate for the 1986 Castillo Ygay Blanco undoubtedly furthered their already excellent reputation.

Marqués de Riscal

A hundred and sixty years after it was established, Marqués de Riscal is almost as well known for the extraordinary and colourful architecture of its much-photographed hotel, designed by Frank Gehry, as it is for its high-quality wines.

Located in the Rioja Alavesa sub-area the estate boasts 540 hectares of vineyards, though it controls almost one thousand more to produce more than six million bottles per year. Like Luciano de Murrieta, the Marquis of Riscal, Camilo Hurtado de Amézaga, took inspiration from Bordeaux, not only with small-barrel ageing, but in planting his vineyards with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot as well as indigenous varieties. The prestige cuvée, Barón de Chirel, still has a percentage of Cabernet in the blend, from vineyards that are more than 80 years old.

Frank Gehry’s truly iconic building does speak of this historic family’s bold ambition. It sits at the heart of ‘The City of Wine’, Riscal’s 21st century concept to market its brand and provide a world-wide focus. As well the hotel (run by the Marriott group), there’s a Michelin-starred restaurant, a spa (managed by Caudalie, ‘inventors’ of Vinotherapy at Château Smith Haut Lafitte), and extensive visitor facilities.

Traditionally, the Riscal range does not include Rioja wines below Reserva level, though in 2010 they did acquire Marqués de Arienzo, a brand with its own vineyards, which produces Crianza. The Reserva is the mainstay of the Marqués de Riscal portfolio, while Riscal also produces white wines in Rueda and operates a winery in Castilla y León.

Marqués de Vargas

Marqués de Vargas traces its vine-growing history all the way back to 1840 when Don Felipe de la Mata, 8th Marquis of Vargas, planted vines at his Hacienda Pradolagar estate. But it was Don Hilario de la Mata , the 10th Marquis (pictured), who was instrumental in transforming the estate from grape growing to wine production.

Don Hilario built a substantial business in wine and spirits distribution and production, but his ambition was to see his family vineyards become a wine producing estate. He died before that dream could be realised, but in 1989 a winery was finally built at the Hacienda Pradolagar in the heart of the Rioja Alta by his son, Pelayo de la Mata, the 11th Marquis.

The estate lies in an area sometimes referred to as ‘Los Tres Marquéses’, adjoining vineyards planted by other Marquises, of Murrieta, and Romeral. It is another Château model here, the winery surrounded by 60 hectares of their own Tempranillo, Mazuelo, Graciano, Garnacha and Maturana.

Head Winemaker Ana Barrón produces a Reserva aged 20 months in American, French and Russian oak, while the Selección Privada is another Reserva, dominated by Tempranillo, but this time aged only in Russian oak. The Hacienda Pradolagar is made only in the best vintages, a blend of Tempranillo and Mazuelo from the oldest vineyards, and aged in new Tronçais oak for around 18 months.

Marqués de Griñón

Though the title of Marqués de Griñón dates back centuries, Carlos Falcó y Fernández de Córdova, who died in 2020, presided over a much more modern wine business. He graduated from the University of California Davis with a degree in viticulture and oenology in 1964 and is considered by many to be one of Spanish wine’s great modernisers.

This is another Noble family with strong Rioja connections, though today the Marqués de Griñón brand is a joint venture, the wines being made by Bodegas Berberana. Within the group is the Durius project in Ribera del Duero, the El Rincón brand from Madrid, and arguably the jewel in the crown, the Dominio de Valdepusa estate in Castilla-La Mancha.

The Marquis introduced radical new techniques for Spain at that time, including drip irrigation and canopy management. Over the years, a crack team of consultants has constantly been challenged with improving both vineyards and winemaking, including Emily Peynaud, followed by Michel Rolland, viticulturist Dr. Richard Smart and renowned soil specialist, Claude Bourguignon.

In 2003, Dominio de Valdepusa became the first estate to receive ‘DO Vino de Pago’, the highest level possible in a Spanish classification system called Vino de Pago. The classification never really grabbed the world’s attention, perhaps one reason why Carlos Falcó was instrumental in launching an association called ‘Grandes Pagos de España’.