Why it matters
The producer
This is not a single-estate Rioja house but a Rioja-based family of labels and cellars. The winery at Carretera de el Ciego in Cenicero turns fruit from Rioja growers into the Paternina, Lagunilla and Rioja-Santiago ranges. Its stated house approach joins Spanish heritage to modern oenological technology, so the bottles carry historic Rioja names while fermentation and ageing are handled with a planned cellar programme.
The Paternina name supplies the long line in this portfolio: the producer dates its Banda Azul label to at least 1896. Over time, that Rioja inheritance became part of a group working across five Spanish wine areas and selling beyond Rioja. The result is a range with distinct regional labels rather than one vineyard expression: Cenicero remains responsible for the three Rioja families, while a Rueda operation has more than 100 hectares of its own vineyard.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Cenicero is the group’s Rioja base, but its fruit does not come from one vineyard behind the winery. For the Rioja wines, the company works with local growers in Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa, two named parts of the appellation. That sourcing gives the Cenicero cellar access to Tempranillo for wines such as Rioja-Santiago Crianza, while the group’s bottles from Rueda, Ribera del Duero, Cava and Arribes del Duero belong to separate regional stories.
The Rioja-Santiago Crianza comes from selected hillsides where vines average 20 years old and root into calcareous clay. The producer links those deep roots and the soil to slow maturation, depth and persistence. In the bottle, that site description sits beneath a fleshy Tempranillo palate rather than a light, early-drinking red.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
In Rioja, the company says it has developed vineyards for decades with growers in Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa. Grapes are pressed into must, then fermentation turns that must into wine; the cellar follows that basic sequence with stainless-steel fermentation and barrel ageing where the bottle calls for it. For the 2023 harvest, winemaker Víctor Pascual identified production control and winery technology as important tools in managing a difficult year, a practical concern when ripeness and healthy fruit need close handling before oak and bottle age can add their flavours.
Wines to know
The range in view
The Rioja range is built around three names: Federico Paternina, Lagunilla and Marqués de la Concordia Rioja-Santiago. Within Rioja-Santiago, Crianza is the fruit-and-oak expression: 100% Tempranillo, fermented in stainless steel and aged for 12 months in new French and American 225-litre barrels. Its red fruit, eucalyptus, vanilla and toast sit with sweet tannin and a fleshy body.
Rioja-Santiago Vendimia Seleccionada takes a more selective route. It is also 100% Tempranillo, from selected Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa vineyards averaging more than 25 years, hand-harvested in 12-kilogram boxes and made only in years the producer judges exceptional. Eighteen months in medium-toast Allier and Nevers French oak moves the profile towards balsamic spice, a velvety texture and a long finish. Lagunilla Family Collection Reserva provides another named Rioja branch, while Paternina carries the historic Banda Azul connection.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with Marqués de la Concordia Rioja-Santiago Crianza. It is a clear Cenicero-made Rioja statement: 100% Tempranillo from selected hillside vines in calcareous clay, stainless-steel fermentation, then a full year in new French and American oak. Expect crisp red fruit and blackberry first, followed by eucalyptus, vanilla and toast. The body is fleshy, the tannins are velvety, and the oak leaves a spicy finish without burying the fruit. It puts the group’s Rioja base, grower sourcing and technical cellar work in one glass.