Chances are, that if there is a wine that you totally admire, most likely there is a personality behind it that would impress you the same way. Just like I was impressed meeting Marcos Eguren.
Shortly after my return from Europe I received the new issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine. On the cover there was a shot of bottles of some best Spanish wines. Some seemed familiar. Inside, a large, very interesting article about the most influential people in Spanish wine business today. Guess whose name wasn’t missing there?
Marcos Eguren’s current wine projects in D.O. Rioja:
Sierra Cantabria (Tinto, Crianza Unfiltered)
Señorío de San Vicente – 1 wine, 1 single vineyard, 1 grape variety, 1 winery
Viñedos de Páganos – Two wines, El Puntido and La Nieta , two single vineyards wines
Viñedos Sierra Cantabria – under construction (we have witnessed during our visit). This winery shall be making the top of the range (Sierra Cantabria Cuvée, Coleccion Privada, Finca El Bosque, Amancio and their only white Rioja, Organza)
D.O. Toro:
Teso La Monja – newest project in Toro. Marcos’s mission is to create more elegant wines by carefully selecting very specific, north facing vineyards. The vines are planted in higher altitude, fresher soils with longer vegetative cycle. That allows Marcos to reduce the alcohol content, make wines more elegant and easier to drink. (Almirez, Victorino and Alabaster, first vintage 2007)
Marcos’s first, original Toro project – Bodegas Numanthia (its two wines Numanthia and Thermanthia received consistently the highest scores from wine critiques all over the world) was purchased by Moet Henessy not long ago.
Tierra de Castilla
Dominio de Eguren (Quality wines at an affordable price) Protocolo Tinto and Blanco, Codice
By the way, newest Robert Parker’s wine reviews just came out. It’s not a surprise to me that Marcos’s wines are at the top range of ratings again. Here are some of recent reviews of his wines:
Bodegas Sierra Cantabria Amancio 2006 – Rioja 95pts
Señorio de San Vincente 2006 – Rioja 93 pts
Bodegas Sierra Cantabria El Bosque 2007 – Rioja 96pts!
Read about Eguren’s newest project in Toro here
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