Rioja  > Marques De Riscal

Marques de Riscal

     Marvelous 16.5/20
 C/ Torrea 1, 01340 Elciego (Álava)

Open  8am to 8pm, 7 days
Cards MC,V,AE
Picture
Tasting room
The Verdict

To "Cellarbrate": Fantastic history, amazing architecture to observe, friendly and knowledgeable tour host, informative tour through the entire winemaking facilities, great range of wines, beautiful restaurant offerings. 1 door awarded.

To "Wine about": As the amazingly designed hotel is not actually part of the winery, the tour does not take you inside this building

How many bottles did we buy: 4

Suitable for: Couples, Large groups, Wine lovers and Architecture lovers

Visited September 2017 (weekday)
Getting There
Country
State/Province
Region
Accessibility
Spain
Rioja
Rioja
Well sign posted, paved road in the town of Elciego.  Note you are not allowed in the grounds of the hotel/winery without being on a tour.  You can visit the hotel restaurants with a reservation, a security guard will query you on entry
Upon Arrival
Parking
Setting


Commercial/Boutique
Ambiance




Airconditioning/Fireplace
There is a large paved car park next to the visitors centre
The visitors centre is located within the grounds of the hotel and winery.  You need to cross a small foot bridge over a small stream and you are surrounded by beautiful trees and gardens
Commercial
The tasting room is located within the large visitors centre, it is modern and bright with stone walls and exposed beams in the ceiling.  The visitors centre also contains a huge gift shop and a casual wine bar/cafeteria.  Given a larger group was ahead of us, our tasting was conducted in the wine bar area
Yes/Yes (in the bistro)
Tasting Experience
Number of wines on tasting
Particular wines or varietals known for
Wait time
Knowledge of wines
​
Staff attitude
​
Winery Tour Offered
​
Tasting seating available at counter
Tasting sheet/order form provided for notes
2-5 (depending on the tour taken)
Rioja blend
No wait, the tour began on time
Excellent knowledge of the styles, vineyards, production methods, capacity and the history of the winery
Friendly and helpful.  Helped us organise our dinner at the hotel. English, Spanish, Italian and French tours are offered
Yes (by appointment only, although we were able to book whilst there for the next tour in 20 minutes.  Groups of up to 30 are taken
We sat around tables in the wine bar for our tasting
No, but not really required for 2 wines
Food Offering
Yes/No
Restaurant/Café/Tasting platter
Yes
Cafeteria, Wine Bar and 2 very highly regarded restaurants, one of which has a Michelin star.  We dined at both restaurants and enjoyed both evenings
Hip Pocket
Price range of wines
Tasting Fee
​
Refundable on purchase?
Tour Fee
Delivery cost per dozen
Club Membership with Discounts etc
€5 - €200
Included in tour fee. You are also able to buy wines by the glass in the wine bar in the visitors centre without appointment
No
€12+ (depending on the tour chosen)
N/A (they do not deliver wines from the wine shop)
Yes
Other features, facilities and offerings
Gift Shop
Toys/play area for kids
Dog friendly
By the way...
Extensive gift shop
No
No
The tour was very interesting and we were able to see the making and storage of their 7 million plus bottle production, with particular highlights being able to see the aged bottle cellar dating back to 1862 and the method of heating the bottle neck to remove the neck in order to open the very old bottles!!  We also learnt about the wire netting over the bottle being a historical tampering measure; very interesting
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