Bodegas Hermanos Peciña

Rioja’s traditional school of winemaking reigned from the 1850s until the 1980s, producing some of the world’s most consistently complex, soul-satisfying wines.

But few of the historic bodegas have remained purely traditional. And today, apart from López de Heredia and La Rioja Alta, who is left to carry the torch of the past’s silky, Burgundian reds? There is one very important example that didn’t even exist 25 years ago: Hermanos Peciña.

Peciña was founded in 1992 by La Rioja Alta’s long-time vineyard manager, Pedro Peciña. Pedro comes from a long line of grape growers, and grapes are in his blood. His family held 20 hectares of great old vineyards around San Vincente, and they would form the basis of his new estate.

In 2002, after 18 years at La Rioja Alta, Pedro left to devote himself entirely to his bodega. By now, he knew where all the best vineyards were, acquiring additional prime parcels exclusively on the left bank of the river, with its high elevations and chalky soil.

From the beginning, Pedro’s winemaking has been utterly classic, and he uses his American oak barrels subtly. With an average age of 5-6 years, the wood is largely neutral, providing textural richness, but only background flavor notes.