Bodega Castillo de Cuzcurrita

The modern winemaking trajectory of the Castillo de Cuzcurrita began to take shape at the end of the last century; although, to trace the origin of this fortress and its relationship with winemaking, one must go back several centuries to the 14th century, a time when the first records of a castle housing one of the most renowned keep towers of the national heritage appear. In 1999, a family investment group acquired the castle to transform it into the headquarters of a 'boutique' winery where every detail is carefully attended to.

Thus, with a significant investment, they began a complete renovation to equip this fortress with a perfectly functional winery, where a limited annual production of bottles, around 70,000 per harvest, is currently made. The facilities (partly underground) are equipped with mechanisms that allow all production processes to be carried out by gravity, promoting higher quality wines. At the helm of the winemaking of this firm, located in the westernmost part of the Rioja Alta in Cuzcurrita del Río Tirón, is the prestigious winemaker Ana Martín, who shares winemaking consultancy roles with the also renowned Pepe Hidalgo. Martín has been responsible for the winemaking of this house since its first vintage in 2000. From the beginning, Martín focused much of her efforts on improving the vineyard.

The winery includes within its walled grounds 7.5 hectares of vineyards. In total, it has 25 hectares of vineyards with an average age of 35 years, half owned and the rest controlled. The vines are cultivated in goblet style, and year after year, the team at Castillo de Cuzcurrita works to improve them: with each new harvest, production is limited, resulting in smaller clusters and wines with greater concentration.

Additionally, Castillo de Cuzcurrita is one of the Rioja wineries that champions wines without Crianza or Reserva back labels. These are unrestrained red wines, with an aging period in barrels determined exclusively by the winery's technical department, based on the results of constant tastings and the characteristics of the vintage.