Why it matters
The producer
Bodegas Marqués de Reinosa is a cooperative winery in Autol, a town at the eastern edge of DOCa Rioja in the Rioja Oriental subzone. It was registered in 1956 as the San Isidro de Autol cooperative, when the grape growers of Autol chose to pool their vineyards rather than continue selling fruit in bulk to the large trading houses that dominated the region. The cooperative later renamed its commercial label Marqués de Reinosa, after Joaquín Garralda y Oñate, a nobleman who championed Rioja wine in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The range is built on Tempranillo and Garnacha grown at altitude on low-fertility soils, with a well-equipped 2000-built facility designed for both controlled fermentation and oak barrel ageing. Crianza is the cooperative's most visible bottle.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Autol sits in Rioja Oriental, the easternmost and warmest of DOCa Rioja's three subzones. The climate is drier and more continental here than in Rioja Alta or Rioja Alavesa, with more Mediterranean influence and less rainfall. That warmth would ordinarily push ripeness fast, but the cooperative's vineyards climb to between 500 and 750 metres above sea level, where altitude moderates temperatures and extends the growing season. Grapes picked here retain more natural acidity than they would on lowland Rioja Oriental plots, and the range runs from everyday reds through to oak-aged whites.
The DOCa Rioja label on the bottle places this wine within one of Spain's most recognisable appellations. Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva are the legal ageing tiers that define how long a Rioja red spends in oak and bottle before release. Marqués de Reinosa works within that framework, with the Crianza as its entry point into the classification.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The grape mix is 60% Tempranillo, 25% Garnacha, with Mazuelo, Graciano, Viura, and Verdejo making up the remainder. Tempranillo provides the red fruit core and ageing backbone. Garnacha adds body and warmth. Mazuelo and Graciano contribute depth of colour and a firmer tannin edge in red blends. Viura and Verdejo support the white wine range.
Tempranillo Blanco is a natural mutation of Tempranillo, first identified in Rioja in the 1980s and approved for the DOCa in 2009. It carries higher natural acidity and more aromatic lift than the red Tempranillo, and the cooperative ages its version on lees in French oak, adding texture and complexity alongside the variety's characteristic freshness.
Wines to know
The range in view
The Crianza is the cooperative's core red. Tempranillo leads the blend. After thirteen months in oak, the wine comes out medium-bodied, with a clean red fruit character, soft tannin, a spice note on the mid-palate, and enough length on the finish to reward holding a few years after release. It follows the classical Rioja Crianza template: accessible without being thin, with the oak integrated rather than dominant.
Tempranillo Blanco is the cooperative's most distinctive white wine direction. Aged on lees in French oak, it develops a broader texture than the grape would show in a neutral vessel, with aromatic intensity and a lively acid line through the finish. A 2024 release has been produced.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with the Crianza. It is Tempranillo-led, aged thirteen months in oak, and priced as an everyday bottle that still carries the full Rioja Crianza classification. Red cherry and dried berry open it. Soft tannin and a warm spice note carry through the mid-palate. The finish is longer than the price suggests.