Marqués de Riscal present their new Tapias wine by holding a historic tasting

Marqués de Riscal have held an extraordinary event: a tasting of 30 vintages selected from their historic collection. A journey through the more than 160-year history of the bodega that have remained set for eternity, vintage after vintage, with which the Rioja winery has sought to lay claim its roots and its historic connection with Bordeaux.  

This historic tasting was held to mark the launch of their new wine, Tapias de Marqués de

Riscal 2019, with which the bodega has returned to the “Place de Bordeaux”, the system through which it will be distributed.

Thus, on the 27 September the Rioja bodega wanted to bring together experts from all over the world: New Zealand, the USA, France, Australia, Germany, England, Finland, Italy and Spain, for a journey through its history via its wines, a journey into the past in order better to understand the present.

Those present were able to taste a selection of pre-phylloxera vintages from between 1862 and 1899, a selection of post-phylloxera vintages from between 1909 and 1964 and, finally, a selection of vintages of the Barón de Chirel reserva.

The tasting in the words of some of the participants

A tasting like this is a unique experience for each of the participants. On this occasion, the writers and experts who took part in the event have recorded their impressions in their various media.

Victor de la Serna, journalist for Metrópoli in El Mundo: “We will remember that 1871, really fine and unchanging, which we already knew 10 years ago, the powerful, tasty, dark 1889, the youthful freshness of that 1918 – now already after the phylloxera outbreak – and the grandeur of the power, elegance and complexity of that already famed 1945, possibly the greatest Spanish wine of the 20^th century. Bettane, a wine guru in France, said of it in this tasting in Elciego, that it was the best red wine he had ever tasted”.

David Allen, MW and deputy editor of Wine Searcher: "...one of the most amazing tastings to be staged anywhere in the world this year – a tasting of 29 vintages of wines from Rioja producer Marques de Riscal.". “The tasting was arranged to coincide with the release via the Place de Bordeaux of a new premium wine from Marques de Riscal, Tapias”.

Josep Roca, sommelier, in his Instagram profile: “There fell on my palate impenetrable, unforgettable, eternal wines. Thank you family @marquesderiscal for a beautiful event, with treasures woken from their slumber, still graceful, solemn, unsullied. Each bottle was a secret message, a contained emotion”.

Carlos González, director of the Guía Peñín: “…has  converted the Marqués de Riscal bodega into true custodians of time and of the history of the wines of Rioja and Spain, whose power transcends even the value of the brand, making them a true world winemaking heritage”.

Alberto Gil, journalist with the Diario de la Rioja: “History in a bottle. Riscal revisits. With an unforgettable tasting, from 1862 to 2011, the history of Rioja and of Spain through enological gems on a global scale”.

Panel of participants:

Australia:

Mr. Andrew Caillard | Master of Wine

New Zealand:

Mr. David Allen | Wine – Searcher

United States:

Mr. Tyler Colman | Dr. Vino

Mr. Doug Frost | Master of Wine & Master Sommelier

Mr. Jeff Jenssen | Wine Enthusiast

Mr. Mike Desimone | Wine Enthusiast

Mr. Ray Isle | Food & Wine

Ms. Shana Clarke | @ShanaSpeaksWine

Mr. Joshua Raynolds | Vinous

England:

Ms. Sarah Jane Evans | Master of Wine & Decanter

Italy:

Mr. Gabriele Gorelli | Master of Wine

France:

Mr. Michel Bettane | Bettane & Desseauye

Mr. Bernard Burtschy | Le Figaro

Germany:

Mr. Stuart Pigott | JamesSuckling.com

Mr. David Schawarzwälder | Weinwirtschaft

Spain:

Mr. Pedro Ballesteros | Master of Wine

Mr. Carlos González | Guía Peñín

Mr. Ferran Centelles | Jancisrobinson.com

Mr. Andrés Proensa | PlanetaVino

Ms. Amaya Cervera | Spanish Wine Academy

Mr. Victor de la Serna | El Mundo

Mr. Alberto Gil | Diario La Rioja

Mr. Josep Roca | El Celler de Can Roca

Ms. María Isabel Mijares | Enologist and wine expert

Mr. Juancho  Asenjo | Wine expert

Vintages tasted:

Pre-phylloxera:

1862 (Médoc Alavés)

1863 (Médoc Alavés)

1870

1871

1876

1884

1886

1892

1899

BARÓN DE CHIREL:

1995

2001

2004

2010

2011

 Post-phylloxera:

1909

1911

1918

1922

1924

1928

1935

1936

1945

1946

1948

1952

1955

1961

1964