Julián Fernández, a wine skin maker by trade, bought vineyards in Ábalos for his own use, laying the foundations of what is now Bodegas Abeica, a project now run by the fourth and fifth generations of the family.
The Fernández family are Pachi and Ricardo, who work in the vineyards; Isabel, in the cellar and management; and Raúl, in sales and distribution. With a long history as cosecheros, the arrival of the young Ricardo (Richi) and his cousin David has brought new life and vitality to this winery in the Sonsierra region.
Ricardo Fernández, the only winemaker on the Basque Culinary Center's list of 100 Young Talents in Gastronomy (under 30) in 2022, is now bottling the finest grapes from the 40 hectares of his family’s vineyards in Ábalos and San Vicente de la Sonsierra.
A member of the Martes of Wine tasting group with fellow producers José Gil, Miguel Merino or Carlos Sánchez, among others, he joined Abeica in 2019, a year after an internship with the Eguren family in Sierra Cantabria, and has since launched several small-batch varietal and single-vineyard wines in addition to Chulato (70,000 bottles, €6), a lively, fruity carbonic maceration red that has traditionally been the family's flagship wine, and the Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva (around 15,000 bottles in all) under the Longrande brand.
Since 2016, they have also been producing the white Abaris (2000 bottles, €23), made from Viura grapes from the north-facing Santa Ana plot at 600 metres elevation. Fermented and aged in 500-litre barrels for around 10 months, it has good acidity, freshness and ageing potential. The saignée rosé (5,000 bottles, €6), bright and fresh with citrus and strawberry notes, is made from Garnacha from Ábalos and fermented in stainless steel tanks.
Since the arrival of the new generation, some varietal and single-vineyard wines have been launched and the production of their Colección de Viñedos (16,000 bottles, €12.50), a sort of big brother to Chulato, made from whole bunches, has changed. Now it is destemmed and blends Tempranillo, Garnacha and Viura from three vineyards over 70 years old. The three varieties are fermented together and then half of the wine is aged in concrete for six months and the other half in 500-litre barrels for the same amount of time.
Born in 2019, Abeica Mazuelo de Larrumbe (1,000 bottles, €35) comes from the vineyard of the same name, planted just over 40 years ago at 560 m elevation in Ábalos. It is one of the few single-varietal Mazuelos in this cold area, and is aged for nine months in seasoned barrels. With its fine acidity, well-defined texture and structure, it is a distinctive wine with good ageing potential.
The first vintage of Abeica Garnacha (2,000 bottles, €29) is 2020 and comes from a vineyard in Ábalos at 600 metres elevation on marl, sand and clay soils. It retains the trademark freshness of the estate's wines, combined with lively notes of red and black fruits. Abeica Carronillo (2,000 bottles, €40) comes from a vineyard just over 50 years old planted in the upper part of the village (630 metres) on shallow clay-limestone soils. Expressive, savoury and with good acidity and persistence, it is an excellent terroir red from Rioja. The latest single-vineyard red to join the range is Abeica El Bardallo (1,400 bottles, €45), a blend of 50% Tempranillo, 5% Garnacha Tinta, 40% Viura and 5% Garnacha Blanca and Torrontes, fermented and aged for 11 months in 500-litre seasoned French oak casks. The grapes come from a vineyard planted in 1958 on clay-limestone soil with a sandy topsoil, between San Vicente de la Sonsierra and Labastida, at 540 metres elevation and with an east-west exposure.
Bodegas Abeica is open to wine tourism, with visits to the winery, the old stone presses in the vineyards and tastings of its range of single-vineyard wines. It also has a wine bar where visitors can sample all the wines in the range and buy directly from the winery.
