Bodegas Martínez Lacuesta starred last 21st June in London in a historic tasting together with two other Rioja wineries (Marqués de Riscal and Señorío de San Vicente) selected by the Master Of Wine Pedro Ballesteros.

Bodegas Martínez Lacuesta was represented by two historic wines: the 2010 125 Gran Reserva launched to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the winery and Martínez Lacuesta Reserva Especial from the excellent 1964 vintage..

During his speech, Pedro Ballesteros highlighted the great capacity of Rioja in general and of Martínez Lacuesta in particular, in the production of wines for ageing, wines that he described as eternal and of which he emphasised their power to continue to grow in the bottle.

He also had a special word for Martínez Lacuesta’s commitment to long ageing, when he emphasised that, despite having a considerable number of barrels, racking is still carried out by hand, maintaining a tradition that dates back to the very beginning of our activity. “In addition to being a century-old winery, Bodegas Martínez Lacuesta has shown that it knows how to manage time to make great wines for ageing,” said the Spanish Master of Wine.

For Pedro Ballesteros, Martínez Lacuesta is part of the second wave – “great wave”, in his words- of the appearance of wineries in Rioja from 1890 onwards, when phylloxera was already devastating France.

And he recalled, of course, that when he was just 18 years old, he received a call from Martínez Lacuesta to deliver Christmas presents around Madrid. “I remember that one of the wines he gave out was from 1979, but another was this one from 1964, which we have here today.”

Rioja Residency

The tasting took place as part of the Rioja Residency organised by the DOCa Rioja Control Board, with the support of the Spanish Economic and Trade Office at The Ned Hotel. During the meeting, which was attended by 20 wineries from different areas of Rioja, three masterclasses were held.

In addition to the tasting given by MW Pedro Ballesteros entitled Secrets of the WineryMW Sarah Jane Evans, who moderated the round table, also participated in the event. The ten heroes of RiojaThe event featured five winemakers from the region and addressed the diversity of Rioja; and sommelier Gonzalo Rodríguez Díaz created a pairing experience combining Rioja wines with dishes prepared by The Ned’s chef.

The event was attended by a large number of professionals from the British wine sector, including sommeliers, wine journalists, independent professionals and retailers.