Gonzalo Rondrigez is a ball of energy who founded his own bodegas after tiring of the larger ‘factories’ he was working for. He and his friends the Laorden’s, who own over 90 hectares of Alavesa and Alta vines set about picking the best 9 ha, all of which are farmed organically, to give Gonzalo some of the highest, oldest and frankly best vineyard sites in Rioja. The style has changed over time, but not his determination to produce fresh, drinkable and classy wines from his home region (he grew up in Logrono). His experimentation is already yielding some fascinating results, and these will come on line in the next year or so, and his ideas will make for an exciting future, so we are very happy to be part of that.

In January 2022 the winery acquired a permanent base right in the heart of Abalos. With a brand new cellar there has been some consolidation of the range (for a minute!). Disfruton reflects Gonzalo's lively side and is very much a soif style red. The domaine wines ; blanco, joven and crianza punch way above their simple titles. Each wine shows incredible freshness but also an accomplished maturity. For such young, drinkable wines nothing is out pf place.

Dolmen Viejo Red is a slipper-soft mastery of Garnacha from what will one day surely be celebrated as one of the best areas in Rioja ; San Vincente de la Sonsierra. The Acacia wood egg used for the Cuvee is one of the most covetable fermentation units we have ever seen. The resulting wine sublime.