Javier Arizcuren was born into a family of viticulturists in the village of Quel, La Rioja Baja. As both an architect and a winemaker he often finds his two worlds colliding; among his architectural projects include the Bodegas of Marqués de Terán and Finca Los Arandinos and more recently he worked on restoring the famous historic calados (tunnel systems used for wine storage) of Ollauri and the buildings of las Bodegas Conde de los Andes.
After studying viticulture and enology at the university of Rioja and experimenting in making small amounts of wine, in 2011 he decided to take care of his family’s vineyards, further honing his winemaking and discovering the unique character of the Sierra de Yerga’s terroir. Javier works with 16 hectares of family vineyards ranging from 30 - 120 years old of mainly Garnacha grapes but also Mazuelo and Viura, always looking to preserve the traditional viticulture of his village.
All the parcels are cultivated using sustainable and organic methods, without any pesticides, herbicides, or any synthetic products. The plots are all located in the Sierra de Yerga, this important mountain range separates the Ebro River watershed from several other notable river valleys, such as the Duero, the Tajo (the Tagus), the Júcar and the Turia, and constitutes an important geographical vector for the Garnacha grape varieties in Spain.
In 2016, Javier opened his urban winery in Logroño, the capital of Rioja. The space serves as both his architectural studio and his bodega, where he crafts and ages his wines. He designed the multi-purpose space to be efficient, modern, clean, and it beautifully celebrates all the rituals of the artisanal winemaking process. The doors are always open to anyone who wants to see the behind-the-scenes life of Arizcuren wines.
Logroño traditionally had small wineries in many of its buildings, until a few decades ago. Javier’s is now the only urban winery remaining in Logroño.
Ratings & Reviews
94 Points - Tim Atkin (Master of Wine)
"To my mind, this is the best Garnacha release yet from Javier Arizcuren. Fermented and aged in amphoras in his stylish urban winery in downtown Logroño, it's fresher brighter and better balanced than previous releases, with the youthful enthusiasm of a parcel planted more recently. Floral, refined and racy with good “minerality” and savoury tannins. Impressive for such a young site."
93+ Points - Luis Gutiérrez Santo Domingo (Wine Advocate, Robert Parker)
The 2018 Barranco del Prado has an extra degree of freshness when compared with the 2015 I tasted before. This was produced with Garnacha from an ancient, ungrafted vineyard at 750 meters in altitude, planted mostly with Garnacha and some other varieties, a traditional red variety, and even some white grapes. In a year like 2018 when the grapes ripened thoroughly, this reached 15.5% alcohol and still feels quite balanced, and it has retained very high acidity and a healthy pH. The vines are on sandy soil, which makes them resistant to phylloxera and tends to deliver wines with finesse. The destemmed grapes fermented with indigenous yeasts, and the wine matured in well-seasoned, neutral French oak barrels for 18 months. There are 678 bottles and 64 magnums that were filled in March 2020.
