Experience the complexity of Queirón El Arca Single Vineyard Rioja. Treat your palate to aromas of ripe red berries, balsamic notes, a touch of rose petal, aniseed, and mediterranean herbs. The balanced palate has bramble fruit and oak characters, complemented by a hint of black pepper and orange peel. Its fine tannins provide a silky and elegant mouthfeel that will pair perfectly with roast meats and perhaps most importantly it will work alongside rich sauces. Capturing the essence of one special vineyard, El Arca is a 'Viñedo Singular' wine, made from an incredibly small and ancient plot of Garnacha vines. Grown on a site overlooking Quel Castle since 1892, each bottle of El Arca is an incredibly unique representation of the rich history and tradition of this remarkable vineyard.

Critic Review

Decanter Magazine: 92Pts
Drinking Window: 2022 - 2026

"A classic Rioja with a surplus of complexity, marked by the traditional ageing method. This has lots of red fruit, and is very expressive."
Yolanda Ortiz de Arri Izarra, Sarah Jane Evans MW, Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW

About the Producer

The town of Quel sits in the Cidacos river valley, between the Sierra Yerga and Sierra la Hez mountain ranges, at the heart of Rioja Oriental. Here in the Barrio de Bodegas wineries have existed since the 18th century, with ancient winemaking caves at the base of the sheer sandstone cliffs, where grapes were gravity-fed from the vineyards above.

This has been the home of the Pérez Cuevas family (who established and own Bodegas Ontañón) for generations, and the new Queirón winery is the fulfilment of Gabriel’s dream. It has been built around an existing cave, and the 4-level design replicates (in a very modern way) the traditional gravity-flow system that allows a gentle approach to the handling of the grapes at each step. They have more than thirty separate vineyard parcels located in and around Quel. These range from the ancient Garnacha vineyard of ‘El Arca’ (planted in 1892) to the Tempranillo vineyard ‘La Pasada’ - planted at some of the highest elevation vineyards in the entire Rioja DOCa.

Established at the start of the new Rioja classification system allowing wines to be labelled according to their origin, their portfolio highlights the winery's heritage, and family’s long relationship, with the town of Quel.

Vineyard and Winery

The low-yielding Garnacha vines, some over 100 years old, grow in sandy loam soils at 500m altitude. After harvest the grapes are kept in the cellar at 12ºC, then undergo selection, de-stemming and are placed in American oak barrels. Some of the grapes are gently trodden to release a small amount of must and achieve a carbonic semi-maceration, whilst also enhancing aromatic intensity, and increasing the release of tannins and anthocyanins. Fermentation, from wild yeasts found in the vineyard, begins spontaneously in barrel. The first fermentation lasts 10-12 days, after which the wine is introduced to first year French oak barrels with different levels of toast to complete fermentation. Then the barrels are racked, and the wine is put back into barrel for malolactic fermentation. The wine remains on lees for 5-7 months, then is transferred to concrete egg-shaped tanks for a final 20 months, before bottling.