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 Parker - Luis Gutiérrez Santo Domingo (Wine Advocate, Robert Parker)
The 2018 Valdetrillo is a new Garnacha (with 3% Malvasía Riojana) from a plot in a zone of the village of Quel that gives the wine its name. The vineyard is on sandy soils at 800 meters in altitude, and the plants are ancient (nobody knows how old) and ungrafted. This is a rich, ripe and heady southern Garnacha with a touch of Mediterranean herbs, cherries in liqueur and something earthy/telluric. The nose is hypnotic and makes you go back to the glass over and over. The palate is luscious and reveals pungent flavors that are complex and ever-changing. This has 15% alcohol and matured in used oak barrels for 20 months. Very showy and impressive. There are 765 bottles and 99 magnums.
94 Points Tim Atkin (Master of Wine)
"It's a museum," says Javier Arizcuren of this ancient, 19th century parcel of 1.36 hectares
at 762 metres. Combining Garnacha with 4% Malvasía and other bits and pieces, Valdetrillo is a classic high-altitude, old-vine red, with effortless concentration, notes of wild mountain herbs, meaty blackberry and blueberry fruit, granular tannins and wonderful minerality and palate length. 2023-31
