Founded in 2001 by a group of wine-loving friends from the Basque Country, Catalonia and Madrid, Puente del Ea is based in Sajazarra, one of the westernmost and highest villages in Rioja Alta, with the Obarenes mountains sheltering the vineyards.

The winery, built in 2000, and the surrounding vineyards were bought from a local winegrower. Basilio Izquierdo, who now runs his own project in Rioja, was in charge of the winemaking for a decade from the first vintage (2008) before handing the job over to Julien Viaud, an agronomist, oenologist and partner in Laboratoires Rolland et Associés, the wine consultancy founded by Michel Rolland that advises on projects in some 25 countries worldwide. Working alongside Julien is Ana Gonzalo from La Rioja as head winemaker in a project led by Rodrigo Madrid, the winery's director.

Their own five hectares of vineyards, planted to Tempranillo, Garnacha and Viura, are farmed respectfully, but without organic certification. They also source grapes from a further 20 hectares of vineyards.

Puente del Ea has two ranges on the market. The three Eridano wines, one white and two reds, all in Bordeaux bottles, are classic in style and sold only on the domestic market, while the Puente del Ea wines, whose labels feature birds that live on the estate, are more fruity and modern and are the winery's flagship wines.

Obar de Puente del Ea (4,500 bottles, €12) blends the estate's old Viura with 15% Chardonnay. According to Madrid, this wine is intended to "carve out a niche internationally." After fermentation, the two varieties are blended and the wine is aged for seven months in French oak barrels with frequent batonnage. With almond, ripe fruit and creamy notes, it is a pleasant wine with some weight on the palate.

There are two wines on the market under the Saiaz de Puente del Ea brand. The rosé (4000 bottles, €9.5) is bled from old Garnacha grapes from the Alto Najerilla area. It has a Provençal colour and is straightforward and friendly, with aromas of red fruit and a good freshness on the palate. The central wine is the red Saiaz de Puente del Ea (22,000, €10), a Tempranillo aged for 12 months in first and second year French oak barrels and a further 12 months in the bottle. International in style, this is a fruity wine with soft tannins, toasted notes and good value for money.

Coraz de Puente del Ea (15,000 bottles, €29) is a selection of plots from the Corazabe site, planted with Tempranillo vines over 60 years old. Aged for 18 months in French oak and a further 18 months in the bottle, this international style wine has a round profile with balsamic, spicy notes, ripe black fruit and polished tannins. The winery's most special wine is Coraz Finca la Esclavitud (2,300 bottles, €38). It is made only in the best vintages with Tempranillo grapes that undergo malolactic fermentation in new barrels, where the wine is aged for two years. It has notes of toast and chocolate, ripe and concentrated black fruit and soft tannins.

Puente del Ea sells 65% of the 120,000 bottles it currently produces on the domestic market, but the aim is to increase production to 200,000 bottles and expand sales abroad.

The winery is open to wine tourism by appointment.