Laguardia lies within Basque country that rubs up along side Rioja, separated at times by the river Ebro. Originally
built as a walled town and used primarily as a fort, Laguardia is known for its
tunnels, dug under the town to protect the inhabitants during battles with
openings that exited to the hillside for escape. Later people realized they had built perfect
wine cellars. The tunnels are still in
use today and many residents have their private cellars in them. It's a pretty little town but we're not here
to go spelunking but to eat. Located just
outside of the walls of La villa de Laguardia, the restaurant and tapas bar, Doña Blanca, was built above
one of the tunnels where wine was once made.
There are windows in the floor so you can look down into the caves. Best of all though it has good comida and a
wine list with almost 800 choices.
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Ensalada
de sepia |
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Ensalada
de pulpo |
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Ensalada
de sardina |
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Alcachofas
fritas |
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Luis
Valentín |
Luis
Valentín and Carmen Enciso worked together for a long time at Bodegas Palacio. In
1998 after the winery was sold to Hijos de Antonio Barceló, they decided to
start their own project, Valenciso,
the result of joining their surnames. Luis
and Carmen rented a small warehouse with barely enough space to produce just
24,000 bottles. Encouraged by their early results, they continued to buy in
grapes from local growers and in 2002, decided to build their own winery. In
2008 the cellar doors opened and today Valenciso employs 6 full time employees
and produces over 100,000 bottles. The
modern winery is about 15 minutes from the town of Haro, which dates back to
the 10th century and has been the center of viniculture activity in Rioja for
centuries. From their base in Ollauri,
they produce small quantities of Reserva wines.
Valenciso Reserva comes from old vine Tempranillo planted in Rioja Alta
where sustainable or “reasoned” viticulture practices are observed. Wines are aged for 16 months in French oak
barrels of which a third are renewed each year.
Valenciso also makes a barrel-fermented white, a blend of Viura and
Garnacha Blanca.
