Why it matters
The producer
Bodegas Faustino was founded in 1861 by Eleuterio Martinez Arzok, who bought the palace and vineyards of the Marqués del Pierto in Oyón, a village in Rioja Alavesa. The Basque Country holds the Alavesa sub-zone on the north bank of the Ebro, at higher altitude and with cooler nights than Rioja Alta or Rioja Oriental to the south and east. Four generations later, the same family name is on the label, and the same village is the production centre.
The estate now controls 650 hectares of vineyards across Oyón and neighbouring Laguardia, making it one of the largest single-estate vineyard holders in the appellation. Inside the cellars, more than 60,000 ageing barrels and nine million bottles of Reserva and Gran Reserva are resting at any moment. That is an unusual combination: scale that belongs to a large commercial producer, and a commitment to extended ageing that belongs to a much more patient one.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Rioja Alavesa sits north of the Ebro river and runs along the southern face of the Sierra de Cantabria, which acts as a wall against Atlantic weather coming in from the northwest. The altitude is higher here than in the plains of Rioja Alta, and nights cool down sharply after warm days. That temperature swing slows ripening and helps grapes hold their acidity through harvest.
Oyón and Laguardia are the two villages anchoring Faustino's holdings. Laguardia is a medieval walled town on a ridge above the plain; its vineyards face south and southeast across the valley. The combination of limestone-clay soils and the marked diurnal shift produces Tempranillo that ripens fully while keeping enough acid backbone to support long oak and bottle ageing. Without that baseline, the Gran Reserva category Faustino has staked its reputation on would not hold together in the bottle.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
All 650 hectares of vineyards supply the Faustino range, from the early-drinking white through the Crianza and Reserva tiers to the Gran Reserva. Growing everything on one estate base means the winemaking team controls fruit selection across all tiers from the same parcels, which allows consistent management of ripeness and harvest timing rather than buying in grapes at variable maturity.
In the cellar, the key tool is time. The Gran Reserva tier ages for 28 months in a combination of American and French oak barrels, followed by further bottle ageing before release. American oak adds vanilla and coconut character and softens tannin; French oak contributes finer grain and a lighter spice. Blending the two gives the wine more aromatic complexity than either alone. The Graciano in the Faustino I blend brings up acidity and floral lift; Mazuelo adds colour depth and tannic body. Tempranillo supplies the base: dark fruit, warmth, and the pliant mid-palate.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range follows the Rioja ageing classification from the base tier upward. Crianza receives the minimum oak and bottle ageing required by DOCa law. Reserva adds more time in barrel and bottle. Gran Reserva, the top category, requires the most ageing and is where Faustino has built its reputation.
Faustino I Gran Reserva is the flagship: 86% Tempranillo, 9% Graciano, 5% Mazuelo, aged 28 months in American and French oak. The nose runs to vanilla, cinnamon, blond tobacco, cocoa, and ripe dark fruit. The palate is warm and generous, and the finish is noticeably richer and softer in texture than a more austere classical Rioja Gran Reserva. Graciano's acidity keeps the wine from becoming heavy; Mazuelo's tannin gives it grip without hardness.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Faustino I Gran Reserva is the right first bottle. It is an 86% Tempranillo blend from 650 estate hectares in Rioja Alavesa, aged 28 months across American and French oak barrels, and it carries in one bottle everything that made Faustino's reputation: the nose of vanilla, tobacco and cocoa that comes from long oak ageing; the warm, rounded palate; the sweet, long finish. It does not taste like a young Rioja. It tastes like a wine that has been stored and tended and allowed to arrive at the glass in its own time. Start here before any other bottle in the range.