Founded in 1895 in Haro, this winery is an indelible part of the history of Rioja. The business was set up on the mezzanine floor of the house on calle La Vega, 25, in Haro, where Eloy Martínez Pérez lived with his wife and nine children. A clerk at the Court of First Instance of Haro, he also helped with the production and sale of wines made in Ollauri by Federico Paternina y Arias under the brand Marqués de Terán. Eloy's eldest son, Félix, who in the same year obtained his Doctorate in Law from the Central University of Madrid, joined the partnership.
The beginnings were more like a gourmet shop: as well as wine, they made soda, seltzer and vinegar, and sold goods from other producers. Their first hit was Clarete Selecto, a short-aged red targeted at middle-class consumers. Next came the Claretes Finos, whose bottles were protected with mesh from their third year. And the "Superior" wines, made in the Burgundy style, and in a semi-sweet Sauternes style. The Martínez Lacuesta brand was registered in 1909.
Félix Martínez Lacuesta (1873-1922), a prominent man of his time, defined the company's strategy. He was a lawyer, journalist and politician, president of the Diputación de Logroño (the local government) and of Caja Vitícola (the bank that issued the loans to replant vineyards after phylloxera), and civil governor of Teruel and Zaragoza. In a famous conference, he laid the foundations for the supply of water from the Ebro. As president of Rioja Wine Exporters' Association, he fought to keep wine out of the free trade zones, to prevent possible blends that would distort its origin. He also encouraged his family to sell in America and, like many of his contemporaries, opened a branch in Madrid, where the house still has offices and where they bottled the wines sent from Rioja until 1964.
Félix's brothers were instrumental in the day-to-day management, export and development of the business. Vermouth production began in 1937, at the height of the Spanish Civil War, thanks to their good relationship with the Catalan winemaker José María Jové, who eventually sold them a "formula" that the Martínez Lacuesta family refined over the years. Their main contribution was to apply their knowledge of wine ageing to produce a Vermut Reserva in 2002. The complex Edición Limitada goes even further, maturing for 14 months in acacia barrels.
The winery is still family-owned. There are currently around 60 shareholders and although they now have an external CEO, five members of the family, including winemaker Álvaro Martínez, are actively involved. In 2009 they moved to a modern, spacious bodega on the outskirts of Haro.
Martínez Lacuesta's distinguishing features include sourcing grapes from the right bank of the river Ebro, some 20 kilometres around Haro (110 hectares, 60 of which are their own, in villages such as Haro, Cihuri, Anguciana, Villalba, Fonzaleche...), the predominance of American oak, extended ageing with manual racking and a philosophy of producing fresh, medium-bodied, finely textured wines that capture the spirit of Rioja Alta and are not easy to find these days.
Recently, the range has been given a makeover with the recovery of old labels with their original coats of arms and a wealth of artwork from the past (Félix Martínez was also an ingenious publicist). José Luis Martínez Lacuesta, head of the Madrid office, has compiled the family's extensive archives and told its story in the book Martínez Lacuesta 1895-2022. 125 years of a family winery.
The current range starts with the flagship red Martínez Lacuesta Crianza (250,000 bottles, €11), a Tempranillo aged in American oak for 18 months, longer than the standard for the category, and offering a rounder texture - it is usually released four years after the harvest. From the 2020 vintage, it will be designated as Cuvée. The Reserva, renamed Hinia (45,000 bottles, €20), is released 10 years after the harvest (in the past it could be as long as 13 years), while Martínez Lacuesta Colección Familia is a new release - starting with the 2011 vintage - that aims to continue the cellaring spirit of the old Reserva Especial. The latter two are blends of Tempranillo with Graciano and a small percentage of Mazuelo.
Campeador, the family's old Burgundy style brand, sold in a bottle with the same shape, has gained relevance with a collection of single-vineyard wines priced at around €20. The central wine is Campeador Reserva, a red that retains the classic blend of 50% Tempranillo from Rioja Alta and 50% Garnacha from Mount Yerga in Rioja Oriental. New additions include a fresh, almost citrusy Garnacha from a north-facing plot in Fonzaleche, and a truly original white Viura, partially fermented with skins from a 55-year-old vineyard owned by the family, which will be released for the first time in the 2021 vintage.
The range of white wines has also been expanded. In addition to a barrel-fermented Viura (€8.5, 15,000 bottles) and a new Tempranillo Blanco (€8), the highlight is the white Hinia Reserva (1,000 bottles, €40), which will be released this spring with the 2020 vintage.
In this new stage, the company is also ready to offer limited quantities of old vintages, including red and white Gran Reservas, and to continue reviving old labels such as Campeador Gran Reserva 2005 with the "Spanish Burgundy" legend on the label.