Redesigning Rioja

In consultation with legendary winemaker Michel Rolland, Marques de Caceres has launched two highly innovative new wines in the last three years alone. This pioneering approach and commitment to quality has kept the company at the forefront of the Spanish wine scene for four decades

IN A WINE world where there has been a distinct movement in these last years to branded wines of the highest order, no company has achieved greater fame than Marqués de Cáceres has.  Not content with supplying a thriving international following for its sound quality red and white Rioja wines under the well respected Marqués de Cáceres label, the company has pioneered the way over the years in producing a series of outstanding wines of exceptional quality.

Innovative launches

The latest example of this drive for perfection in winemaking is the launch last month of the intensely fruity red wine MC 2001.  This brand new wine, in every sense of the word, is made from a special selection of Tempranillo grapes from "green harvested" vines grown in sun-exposed areas.

Perfectly matured grapes with maximum concentration undergo a prolonged maceration followed by a short period of ageing in new French oak barrels. The result is a dark, dense, inky coloured wine with an intensely ripe fruit bouquet and a complex taste, fleshy and rich but with soft, powerful tannins.

A really modern wine, MC 2001 is full of character and already ready for drinking, although it also offers excellent potential for ageing.  This newly launched MC 2001 from Marqués de Cáceres joins the ranks of three other highly individual wines (one red and two whites) that the company has hand-crafted and created over the last ten years.

In fact, it was in 1999 when the bodega surprised the trade by introducing at Vinexpo that year its super-premium wine Gaudium 1994. Made from a rigorous selection of the best Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano grapes from the older vines in the best vineyards in Rioja, Gran Vino Gaudium is an exclusive wine that is aged in new French oak barrels for 18 months and then in bottle for a minimum of 24 months.

Produced only in the best vintages, Gaudium 1994 is now being replaced by the excellent 1996.  While red wines have become synonymous with the Rioja area in recent decades, white wines too have played their part, and Marqués de Cáceres has enjoyed great success recently with two innovative white wines.

The complex and flavoursome dry Antea 2001, made from the traditional Spanish grape Viura with a small percentage of Malvasia (fermented and vinified in new French oak barrels)  contrasting with the semi-sweet Satinela with its intense bouquet of apricot, peach and mango, made from late-harvested Viura and Malvasia grapes.

Pursuit of excellence

The launch of these four top quality speciality wines during the last decade by Marqués de Cáceres confirms the Forner family’s pursuit of excellence that has been the hallmark of the bodega since its foundation in 1970.

Such is the world-wide success and global recognition of Marqués de Cáceres today, it is hard to believe that it was less than 35 years ago that Enrique Forner first created the bodega. Spanish by birth and French by adoption, Enrique Forner (whose winemaking family had been forced into exile during the Spanish Civil War) returned to Spain in 1970 to set up his new wine business. Right from the start, his winemaking concepts for Marqués de Cáceres were innovative and contributed to the complete renovation of the Rioja DO.

Retaining many French practices – after all the Forner family are owners of Château Camensac in Bordeaux – he selected only the best vineyards in the area, reduced the time Rioja wines were traditionally matured in wood and increased bottle ageing. 

American oak was progressively replaced by French oak and the result was a new style of red wine with rich concentration and a subtle balance between ripe fruit and discreet oak.  A similar pioneering approach was taken in the production of the Marqués de Cáceres white and rosé wines.

Concentrating on the vinification of young, fresh, fruity wines with absolutely no ageing in wood, these wines were a revolution in Rioja. 

Extensive range

Today, the company produces a complete range of Rioja wines at its impressive headquarters at Cernicero, where more than 40,000 oak barrels are housed under one roof. The bodega’s top selling red wine is the Marqués de Cáceres Vendimia Seleccionado 2000. This special Crianza is aged in oak for 16 months and then in bottle for at least 14 months and is a blend of selected Tempranillo (85%), Graciano and Garnacha Tinta grapes.

These three traditional Rioja varieties (in the same proportions) make up the blends for both the Reserva 1995 and the Gran Reserva 1994.  The former is matured for two years in French oak barrels with a further two years in bottle, while the Marqués de Cáceres Gran Reserva is aged for 26-28 months in French oak and by as much as eight to ten years in bottle.

Complementing this trio of classic red Riojas are the more recently launched Gaudium Gran Vino 1996 and MC 2001.  In white wines the company offers a selection of four quite different wines.  The more recently introduced barrel-fermented Antea 2001 and semi-sweet Satinela 2002 (already mentioned) are joined by two of the company’s most popular wines: the young and fruity Marqués de Cáceres 2002 and the white Crianza 2000 which is aged in French and American oak barrels just long enough to give a touch of oak flavour and spices to the natural fruit.

Both wines are made from 100% Viura grapes.  The deliciously crisp and fruity Marqués de Cáceres Rosé 2002, unoaked and made from 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha, completes the range. 

Expert advice

Through the four decades of continual development and expansion at Marqués de Cáceres, the Forner family has been wise enough to enlist the expert advice and hands-on assistance from two top oenologists, first with Professor Peynaud (until 1992) and now with his successor, Michel Rolland.  Both men have had a strong influence in ensuring that Marqués de Cáceres leads the field in innovation and is at the forefront of wine technology.

Over the same time, Enrique Forner has handed over the running of the family company to his daughter Christine who follows firmly in her father’s footsteps with a philosophy based entirely on quality.

Further investment and expansion goes on at the bodega’s facilities and Christine Forner’s current objectives are to develop the presence of their top of the range wines so as to consolidate the international quality image of the brand both in Spain and in the 80 or so markets to which they are exported world-wide.