Montecillo’s roots are in Fuenmayor, one of the towns with the longest grapegrowing traditions in Rioja Alta. Surrounded by vines and close to the waters of a serene and benevolent river, the majestic Ebro, Fuenmayor’s surroundings are set amongst flat topped hills, and in the distance, the distinctive rocky mass of the Cantabrian Mountains. “El Montecillo” is the beautiful patch of land that gave name to our winery many years ago and now sym- bolizes an ethos and a way of life: the origin and cornerstone of what we are.
Carefully selected from the best vines, the grapes arrive at the winery to commence a new vintage. They carry the specific characteristics of maturity, acidity and flavor that prove ideal for crafting age-worthy wines: historically recognized as the hallmark of Bodegas Montecillo.
The very latest technology is used to control every step throughout both winemaking and ageing. One of the winery’s key milestones in recent history was the installation of Ganimede® tanks, which allow for a gentle, selective and effective extraction of the wine’s aromatic compounds.
AII this is in the DNA of the third oldest winery in Rioja: Bodegas Montecillo. More than 140 years after the foundation of our first winery, Montecillo retains a solid philosophy of respect for the vine, selecting the best grapes, winemaking techniques that best suits each varietal, ageing in high quality oak barrels and rounding-off the wines in the calm of our underground cellars, where we keep vintages that date back to 1926, the year that the Rioja Denomination of Origin was created.
Montecillo maintains relationships that go back decades with hundreds of vine growers in the area. This collaboration provides us, year after year, with the very best fruit from more than 800 parcels spread across the Rioja Alta.
Another distinctive trait of the winery is the continuous renovation of its barrel stock, a permanent investment over the 20,000+ French and American oak barrels, ensuring a clean and optimal ageing of each wine style. We are in the heart of the winery, in its dee- pest part: the impressive underground cellar.
Here, surrounded by darkness, calm and mystery, the wines of Montecillo are laid down to achieve great-ness. The passage of the years will convert them into Gran Reservas and they will be called forth to perpetuate the legend of our name. But, at the moment, they continue to rest. And they slowly evolve within hundreds of thousands of bottles, piled up, carefully, by hand, one on top of the other, row after row. With unequalled precision and stability. The story goes that they could easily sup-port the steps of a pair of dancers without any ill effects.