BODEGAS MONTECILLO
Rioja since the 19th century
More than 145 years after the foundation of our first winery, Montecillo retains a solid philosophy of respect for the vine, selecting the best grapes, winemaking techniques that best suits each varietal, aging in high quality oak barrels and rounding-off the wines in the calm of our underground cellars, where we keep vintages that date back to 1926, the year that the Rioja Denomination of Origin was created.
THE VINEYARD
Close links to hundred of grape growing families
We are actively committed to our natural and human environment.
Following this premise, Montecillo maintains relationships that go back decades with hundreds of vine growers in the area. This collaboration provides us, year after year, with the very best fruit from more than 800 parcels spread across the Rioja Alta.
Equipped with the latest technology in geo-localization, we can control the healthy vegetative cycle of the vines, the different stages in the ripening process and the final quality of the fruit, among other factors. Our name, Montecillo – or little mountain – honours the origin of it all: the irregular topography of the Rioja vineyards. And it is here, in the vines, that our main efforts are concentrated.
CRAFTING AND AGING
Quality and savoir-faire
Carefully selected from the best vines, the grapes arrive at the winery to commence a new vintage. They carry the specific characteristics of maturity, acidity and flavor that prove ideal for crafting age-worthy wines: historically recognized as the hallmark of Bodegas Montecillo.
The very latest technology is used to control every step throughout both winemaking and aging. One of the winery’s key milestones in recent history was the installation of Ganimede® tanks, which allow for a gentle, selective and effective extraction of the wine’s aromatic compounds. More recently, small stainless steel deposits and flextanks have been added in order to obtain more complex and unique wines in smaller batches for fine wines. Another distinctive trait of the winery is the continuous renovation of its barrel stock, a permanent investment over the 20,000+ French and American oak barrels, ensuring a clean and optimal aging of each wine style.
CELLARING
Time becomes legend in the deepest part of the cellar
Time is to be treasured; silence, an ally; and patience, a jewel to be preserved.
We are in the heart of the winery, in its deepest part: the impressive underground cellar. Here, surrounded by darkness, calm and mystery, the wines of Montecillo are laid down to achieve greatness. The passage of the years will convert them into Gran Reservas and they will be called forth to perpetuate the legend of our name.
But, at the moment, they continue to rest. And they slowly evolve within hundreds of thousands of bottles, piled up, carefully, by hand, one on top of the other, row after row. With unequalled precision and stability. The story goes that they could easily support the steps of a pair of dancers without any ill effects.
