Bodega Miguel Merino

Cantina e Vini

Since the beginning of my exporting career I have long dreamt of having my own small "bodega", where I could make a few bottles of wine of the best quality possible. Briones, in the heart of the Rioja Alta, gathered all the conditions I was looking for: old steep vineyards of Tempranillo grapes, chalky soil and a climate showing a marked Atlantic influence. Declared a town of historic and artistic merit, Briones is where we decided to site our bodega. Twenty years ago, we restored an old 19th Century house on the outskirts of the town. On the adjoining land we built facilities for vinification, barrel and bottle ageing and planted a small experimental vineyard. Now, as one of the smallest and youngest wineries in Spain —our first vintage was 1994— our wines are among the most prestigious in the country, and we are exporting them to over 30 markets. This encourages us to grow, not in quantity, but to constantly improve our style; how to get the best from each grape and each barrel. To continue to enjoy our wine-making.

It is easy to obtain an average wine from fantastic vines, but it is impossible to create a great wine out of bad grapes, and that explains our obsession for finding the small, old vineyards that nobody else wanted to work. Some planted so long ago that were designed to be tilled by horses, no tractors then. Vineyards whose grapes have the fruit, structure and intensity required to produce a grand wine. Using traditional methods which are Nature friendly we take care of eight vineyards in our town, Briones: