Rioja’s third-oldest winery brings three critically acclaimed wines to the U.S. market to honor the winery’s history, tradition and forward-thinking
New York, NY, October 2, 2024 — Bodegas Montecillo, one of the pioneering wineries in DOCa Rioja, has officially launched the Viña Monty range, comprised of three ultra-premium wines in the U.S. market. The three wines were introduced in Spain to honor the winery’s 150th anniversary in 2020, inspired by the iconic Viña Monty brand whose history dates back to 1870.
The Viña Monty Gran Reserva 1975 brought Bodegas Montecillo critical acclaim after making headlines and securing first place in the 1983 blind tasting of wines from Rioja and Bordeaux in Amsterdam. Thanks to the award-winning wine, the winery and the Rioja Region received widespread recognition of quality around the globe. In honor of the 150 milestone, Bodegas Montecillo revived the mythical 1975 Gran Reserva and sought to create three superb new wines for the modern-day palate.
Winemaker Mercedes García Rupérez and her technical team have spent eight years investigating the vineyards to launch the three exclusive Viña Monty wines. Mercedes searched for unique grapes that would reveal a different side to Bodegas Montecillo, offering a more complex and premium range that goes above and beyond the winery’s staple wines. The final selection consists of exceptional parcels vinified and studied separately: two parcels of Graciano, one located in Cenicero, Rioja Alta, and Rioja Oriental, two parcels of Garnacha in Huércanos and Arenzana, and one parcel of 85-year-old vine Viura from Sotés.
“We are thrilled to bring this iconic range that honors the authentic style and philosophy of winemaking at Bodegas Montecillo in honor of the founder’s grandson, José Luis Navajas,” says Winemaker García Rupérez. “The three Viña Monty wines reveal Rioja potential to go beyond Tempranillo–we expect the U.S. consumers to be impressed with the complexity and elegance of these three very diverse native Spanish grapes that may be new to their palates”.
Crafted with meticulous attention to detail and generations of expertise, the Viña Monty range promises to elevate the wine scene, offering enthusiasts a taste of Rioja’s finest red and white expressions. Mercedes and her technical team have worked hard to expand their horizons beyond the emblematic Tempranillo to introduce U.S. consumers to native Spanish varieties such as Viura, Graciano, and Garnacha, which exude an overwhelming personality and can adapt to different palates and trends throughout time.
- Viña Monty Viura 2018 (SRP:$90): The Viura grapes are selected from 85-year-old vines from vineyards in a special plot located in Sotés, Rioja Alta. The wine offers rich aromas of ripe pear, patisserie, vanilla and sweet quince. This lemon-colored wine is expressive, fresh and crisp with very subtle tannins and tremendously well-balanced acidity that cuts right through the buttery texture.
- Viña Monty Graciano 2016 (SRP: $90): A vibrant cherry-red wine with aromatic layers of resinous fennel and exotic black licorice spice. It has a firm entry on the palate and is extremely broad with mineral, resinous and black fruit flavors followed by succulent tannins. The Graciano grapes are sourced from two plots in Cenicero, Rioja Alta and Rioja Oriental, near a meander of the Ebro River. This year, the Viña Monty Graciano received an outstanding score of 97 points by Decanter.
- Viña Monty Garnacha 2016 (SRP: $90): The wine brims with fresh aromas of ripe red fruits, complemented by hints of vanilla and cocoa with a lingering aftertaste of ripe fruit flavors. Sourced from 80-year-old vines in Arenzana in Rioja Alta, the high altitude gives the blend sublime acidity and elegance harmonized with grapes from Rioja Oriental that add vivid color, silky tannins and alcohol to the red wine of medium intensity. This year the Viña Monty Graciano received an outstanding score of 95 points by Decanter.
Bodegas Montecillo boasts 150 years of authentic winemaking traditions, establishing a reputation for crafting premium Rioja wines. The winery manages to be coherent and offers consistent quality year after year, thanks to the rigorous selection of grapes and deep experience of aging in barrels and bottles, resulting in wines that stand out for their elegance, complexity, and balance. This year, the Viña Monty range has already been honored as one of Decanter’s 50 Best In Show.
The Viña Monty range is available in the US market as of October 1, 2024, and will see distribution in all major markets.
About Bodegas Montecillo
Bodegas Montecillo was founded in 1870 in Fuenmayor, one of the towns with the longest history and tradition in the Rioja Alta. Bodegas Montecillo crafts quality wines with a unique personality through their state-of-the-art location and the selection of the best raw materials to deliver age-worthy wines. Today, it symbolizes the philosophy of the winery: a vocation and a character stemming from the origin and foundation of what is found in the vines. Bodegas Montecillo manages to be coherent and offers consistent quality year after year, thanks to the rigorous selection of grapes and deep experience of aging in barrels and bottles, resulting in wines that stand out for their elegance, complexity and balance.
