At BACO, we are pleased to launch our "Winery of the Month" initiative, highlighting wine projects that combine tradition and passion. This April, we are featuring Bodegas Díez del Corral, a jewel of Rioja Alta with over a century of history.
Founded in Anguciana, just a few kilometers from Haro, the Díez del Corral family has been linked to the world of wine since 1880. Their commitment to artisanal production and respect for the land is reflected in every bottle, capturing the essence of the Riojan terroir.
Among their featured wines are:
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La Piconada Tinto: An elegant red wine made mainly with Tempranillo and subtle notes of Maturana, representing the classic finesse of Rioja Alta.
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La Piconada Blanco: A harmonious combination of Tempranillo Blanco and Chardonnay, fermented in oak barrels, offering complexity and freshness.
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La Piconada Maturana: A single-varietal Maturana, surprising with aromas of coffee and wild herbs, providing a unique sensory experience.
- La Piconada Rosado: A wine made with Viura and Garnacha tinta varieties, harvested by hand, fermented at very low temperatures to preserve all its aromatic intensity and then aged on its lees.
And to learn more about the winery and its project, we will be talking to Juan, Javier, and Manuel, who are continuing this great winemaking project in Anguciana.
How was Bodegas Diez del Corral born and what is its philosophy in winemaking?
Bodegas Diez del Corral is a winemaking project born in 2019, although its roots go back several generations, closely linked to the tradition and knowledge of wine in Rioja Alta.
The turning point came in 2013, when Ricardo and three of his children traveled to Munich and saw firsthand the enthusiasm generated among professionals and amateurs by “La Piconada,” a family wine that was beginning to stand out for its uniqueness and character.
From that moment until 2019, the family worked to consolidate a project with a clear vision: to produce fine Rioja Alta wines that maintain the traditional essence, while incorporating an innovative approach. This innovation is mainly materialized in the use of minority varieties, which bring a distinctive personality to their blends and become the winery's hallmark.
What makes the Rioja Alta terroir special and how does it influence your wines?
We are in a privileged enclave of Rioja Alta, an idyllic setting where the clay-iron soil with rounded stones and the predominantly cold climate for a good part of the year impart a very special character to our wines. The marked Atlantic influence defines the fresh and elegant profile of our elaborations, providing natural acidity and a great aging potential.
At Bodegas Diez del Corral, we conceive winemaking as a respectful process, where the true protagonists must be the grapes. For this reason, we work with long-aged oak barrels—around 8 years of use—that do not mask the fruit, but rather accompany it and allow it to express itself authentically.
This approach has a very personal inspiration: we follow the philosophy of a close friend of our grandfather Carmelo, Don Rafael López de Heredia, a pioneer in demonstrating that time and patience, along with respect for the vineyard, are the best allies for creating wines with soul.
We combine French and American oak barrels, seeking the perfect balance between structure, finesse, and complexity, but always with the premise that the vineyard should speak in every glass.
What aspects differentiate your production methods and what do you aim to convey in each bottle?
Our winemaking philosophy is based on traditional Rioja Alta methods, convinced that this way of working is key to achieving the elegance and finesse that define the great wines of the region. We carry out a slow vinification, respectful of the raw material, with controlled fermentations and aging that seek to accompany the wine without dominating it.
However, where we truly make a difference is in the blending. At Bodegas Diez del Corral, we have opted for a minority variety that represents barely 0.2% of the total planted area in Rioja: Maturana Tinta. A unique, intense, and expressive grape, of which we cultivate a carefully selected hectare in our vineyard.
Maturana brings a unique dimension to both our blends and single-varietal wines. Its profile stands out for a vibrant acidity, chromatic depth, firm structure, and round, marked tannins, which are integrated into a balanced whole with great volume in the mouth. The result is a wine with its own identity, capable of capturing the attention of both professionals and amateurs, thanks to its aromatic originality and its differentiating character.
This commitment to the minor, to the special, is a statement of intent: to make fine Rioja Alta wines with an innovative soul, respecting the past but looking decisively to the future.
For those trying your wines for the first time, what references do you recommend and why?
For us, the true emblem of Bodegas Diez del Corral is our blended wine: a coupage composed of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Maturana Tinta. This wine represents the soul of the project, the perfect synthesis between the tradition of Rioja Alta and our innovative vocation.
It is a fine, elegant, accessible, and soulful wine, designed for enjoyment. A wine that accompanies, that doesn't impose, and that has that uncommon virtue: volume. It is not unusual that, at a meal among friends, two bottles are shared even before starting to eat. This ability to effortlessly seduce, to invite further drinking, is precisely one of the pillars of our approach: to create wines that captivate from the first glass.
On the other hand, for those seeking a more unique experience, we offer our Maturana Tinta single-varietal. A wine that is generating increasing interest among sommeliers, professionals, and enthusiasts, and which many already specifically seek out when they visit us at the winery.
With its firm structure, pronounced acidity, herbaceous notes, and a very particular spicy character, this wine bears some resemblance to a Cabernet Franc from South Africa, although with its own Riojan identity. It is a wine that is not just drunk: it is heard, told, shared. It has a story, a unique personality, and a capacity to generate conversation that makes it more than just an exclusive reference.
We invite you to discover it personally at our home, or at Baco, where we will be delighted to tell you the story behind each bottle.
How do you see the future of wine at your winery? Any news we can expect soon?
My brothers and I firmly believe in the path we have forged. Our roadmap is clear: to produce high-quality wines, with an artisan soul and deeply linked to the terroir of Anguciana, a small Riojan village that, although little known, has enormous winemaking potential. Our ambition is to position it on the map alongside great names like Haro, showing the world the richness of its land and its history.
As part of this dream, we are undertaking the restoration of a historic family building, along with impressive underground cellars. These rock-hewn galleries are reminiscent of the dungeons of a French château: imposing, more than 4 meters high by 3 meters wide, connected by passageways that run through the mountain itself. A unique, authentic space with invaluable heritage value that will soon open its doors, becoming a new symbol of our identity as a winery.
In terms of enology, this year we are closing the cycle with a very special novelty: an exclusive wine made from our centennial plot, a viticultural jewel where vines between 100 and 120 years old coexist. Here we find a treasure trove of diversity: Graciano, Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Tempranillo, trained in goblet fashion and with the utmost respect for their history and potential.
From this plot, a unique wine will be born, bottled in a special presentation, with a distinct label and design. We will only produce 300 numbered bottles, many of which are already reserved even before their launch. A small tribute to the past, with a vision for the future, which we wanted to share first with the members of our club, who accompany us on this journey with the same enthusiasm as us.
Because at Bodegas Diez del Corral, we don't just make wine: we build a legacy. And we do so with the land, family, and passion as fundamental pillars.
