Bodega El Fabulista

Cantina e Vini

The “El Fabulista” cellar is located in the heart Rioja D.O. in Laguardia, a medieval village surrounded by vineyards and with a rich cultural heritage. Buried seven meters deep, under a seventeenth century palace, the cellar and its wines are named after one of the most prestigious residents of the palace: the fabulist Felix Maria Serfin Sanchez de Samaniego. His fables continue to resonate within the walls of this medieval cave. This medieval underground winery has been adapted to allow the access of visitors any day of the week. The tour begins with the history of the winery and is supplemented by an entertaining explanation of the winemaking process. The tour takes visitors into the basement of the Samaniego palace and covers the differents levels of the cellar, until reaching the three main and parallel drafts that make up the winery, one for processing, another for aging and the last for the tasting of our wines. The “El Fabulista” is one of only two wineries that is still making its wine within the walled city of Laguardia. In this historic cellar the wine is made using traditional methods, with grapes from our own vineyards and grape-treading in the traditional manner. This results in wines with bright and lively colours, fine aroma and very agreeable taste. The visitors will know the origin of the caves and the process of winemaking by the traditional system of carbonic maceration. The “El Fabulista” is not only a large and spectacular historic cellar of the charming town of Laguardia, it is the one in which wine is still made in a natural and artisanal way and where the visitors are invited to participate by stepping on the grape as it used to be.

The winery sells five great type of wines with a young wine label, but in reality they are author wines, very personal. A very bold and original proposal. Each wine bottle is associated with a fable of Félix María Samaniego (you can find the fable in the labbel of the wine bottle), and they have been named with the same names: "Fabula", "IIlustrado", “Sabio”,..etc., a touch of distinction, innovating in the traditional world of wine. JOVEN BLANCO. White wine made with grapes of variety Viura and cold alcoholic fermentation method. JOVEN TINTO. Red wine made with grapes of variety Tempranillo and Carbonic maceration method. ILUSTRADO Red wine made with grapes of variety Tempranillo and Carbonic maceration method. Aging 6 months in american oak barrel. SABIO Red wine made with grapes of variety Tempranillo and Carbonic maceration method. Aging 12 months in american and french oak barrel. FABULA Red wine made with grapes of variety Tempranillo and Carbonic maceration method. Aging 15-18 months in french oak barrel and 8 months in bottle.