Sauvignon
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2026
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Fresh goat cheese, grilled seafood platters, and light pasta dishes with herb-based sauces.
✨ Technical Specifications
Marques de Riscal, historically celebrated for pioneering modern Rioja, played an equally revolutionary role in Spain's white wine renaissance. In the early 1970s, guided by the legendary French enologist Emile Peynaud, the estate ventured into the high-altitude, gravel-rich soils of Castilla y Leon. Recognizing the terroir's immense potential, they introduced Sauvignon Blanc clones from the Loire Valley to the region. This wine is a brilliant expression of that pioneering spirit, crafted entirely from Sauvignon Blanc grapes. The vines thrive under a harsh continental climate characterized by hot summer days and cool nights, which helps preserve the grape's vibrant natural acidity. Fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks to maintain its aromatic purity, the wine showcases intense aromas of fresh-cut grass, citrus, and tropical fruits, underpinned by a distinctive mineral backbone that pays homage to its stony soils.
🍾 About the Producer
Founded in 1858 by Camilo Hurtado de Amézaga, Marqués de Riscal is one of the oldest and most pioneering wineries in Spain's Rioja region, situated in the historic town of Elciego. The estate revolutionized Spanish viticulture by introducing Bordeaux-style vinification and barrel aging techniques, earning worldwide acclaim as the first non-French wine to win the Diploma of Honor at the Exhibition of Bordeaux in 1895. In addition to its legendary, structured Rioja Reserva and Gran Reserva Tempranillo expressions, the bodega expanded into Castilla y León in the 1970s, playing an instrumental role in establishing the Rueda appellation with benchmark Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc wines. Today, Marqués de Riscal seamlessly fuses classical winemaking mastery with avant-garde innovation, epitomized by its iconic Frank Gehry-designed winery complex.
🍇 Grape Varieties
Verdejo (min 85%), Sauvignon Blanc