Bodegas Montecillo: Contemporary wines with historic Rioja roots

Montecillo's history intertwines two families and their passion for wines; a centennial legacy that forged an everlasting name

Family winemaking for nearly 150 years

Entirely family owned since 1870, Montecillo was founded by Don Celestino Navajas Matute in his small Rioja Alta home town, Fuenmayor. Bordered by the Ebro river and the Cantabrian mountains, Don Celestino recognised the area’s potential for making fine wines. He built the town’s first winery, which is still in use today, complete with its original pale gold stone masonry and ‘Montecillo’ styled in wrought iron. Over the following decades, Fuenmayor would become one of Rioja DOC’s most important wine-producing towns.

In 1880, at the dawn of a new era for Rioja wine, Don Celestino joined the revolutionary winemakers who began fusing Spanish traditions with Bordeaux techniques – namely, oak barrel ageing. In a shrewd move, Don Celestino sent his son Alejandro to study in Bordeaux and his know-how gave rise to a modern Rioja wine style. As phylloxera ravaged French vineyards, Rioja’s star ascended and Montecillo’s wines won international acclaim. The family’s pioneering spirit spread to Alejandro’s son, José Luis, who trained in Burgundy and returned with methods such as cold vinification – a key component of Montecillo’s elegant and age-worthy wines.

In 1973, Bodegas Montecillo passed from one Spanish wine dynasty to another when José Luis entrusted his winery to Osborne, one of the world’s oldest family-run companies. With over 245 years of sherry winemaking expertise Osborne was able to take Montecillo in a new direction, expanding into nearby Navarrete and building facilities to support its values: careful winemaking and optimal ageing.

Capturing the essence of Rioja

Montecillo’s success is not only driven by family winemaking, it comes down to prime Rioja Alta sites planted with the best old vines bearing high quality fruit. Even Montecillo’s name, ‘little mountain’, speaks of the unique geography of this part of Rioja, where sloping vineyards grow among pine forests with snow-capped peaks looming on the horizon. Old bush vines are dry-farmed here in ferrous and calcareous clay soils, peppered with boulders and sand. In this terroir, yields can be as low as 3,500 kg/ha and flavours are concentrated.

Rioja Alta’s winemaking community also plays a vital role; after decades of dedication and prestige Montecillo has forged close bonds with the region’s top vine-growers – creating a forum of shared knowledge from 800 different plots.

Chief winemaker and innovator, Mercedes García Rupérez, has spent 10 years getting under the skin of Rioja. She and her team work tirelessly to revitalise Montecillo’s wine range with fresh new styles while also perfecting the classic Crianzas, Reservas and Gran Reservas.

Despite its historic reputation, Montecillo remains at the cutting edge of winemaking technology. The oenological team use everything from GPS-controlled vineyard systems to small Flextanks to craft complex, expressive wines.

An ancient cellar of wine treasure

Although the wines are crafted in the winery, they truly begin their journey in the cellar. Over 20,000 of the highest quality French and American oak barrels store the wine for up to 32 months, after which it is bottled and stacked by hand in the underground cellar.

The story goes that the bottles are piled with such precision that they could support a pair of dancers, with no resulting damage to the wine or performers. Dancing aside, the bottles lie undisturbed in the silent darkness to slowly evolve over time.

For wine lovers, Montecillo’s 19th-century cellar is a treasure trove of old and rare bottles. Dimly-lit stone alcoves hold row upon row of oenological gems, including a private collection of wines crafted only in exceptional vintages, dating back to that of 1926.