Marqués de Vargas

Marqués de Vargas

A family estate outside Logroño in Rioja, built around the Hacienda Pradolagar vineyard, where the family planted its first vines in 1840. The wines are estate-grown — less common in a region where a great many houses buy fruit — and the range starts at Reserva rather than at joven or crianza.

The range

Reserva is the house wine, currently the 2018 in 75cl and the 2015 in magnum. Gran Reserva sits above it, in 2015 and 2016. Other bottlings from the estate — Hacienda Pradolagar, Selección Privada — and the Albariño from the group's Rías Baixas property, Pazo de San Mauro, appear here as they arrive.

What to expect

Rioja in the modern estate style: French and American oak, ageing beyond the DOC minimum, and no entry tier underneath. The starting price is above supermarket Rioja and the wines are built accordingly. Gran Reserva is the cellar bottle; the Reserva is the one to drink now.

Serving

Serve at 16–18°C, decanted.