XR Reserva
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2036
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted lamb, grilled red meats, and aged cheeses such as Manchego.
✨ Technical Specifications
Marqués de Riscal, founded in 1858, is a cornerstone of Rioja's winemaking history. The 'XR' label pays homage to a historic cellar tradition: during the late 19th and 20th centuries, the winemaker would mark exceptional casks with the chalk letters 'XR' (Extra Reserva) to denote wines of superior quality destined for the winery's private collection. Revived as a modern tribute, this Reserva is crafted primarily from Tempranillo with a touch of Graciano, sourced from old vines in the clay-limestone soils of Rioja Alavesa. Aged in American oak barrels, it beautifully bridges classic Rioja elegance with modern fruit intensity, offering a complex profile of dark berries, liquorice, sweet spices, and balsamic undertones.
🍾 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
Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo