Marques de Riscal Reserva 1948 Herederos de Marques de Riscal - (Elciego, Rioja Alavesa) D.O.: Rioja Rioja Vintage Rating 1948: EXCELLENT "Marqués de Riscal is a Spanish business group dedicated to the wine industry. It has its origin and headquarters in the town of Elciego, in the Rioja Alavesa, where it began its activity in 1858, being the oldest winery in Álava In 2006 the Elciego wineries were transformed into the City of Wine, a complex that includes the primary wineries, the most modern ones, the vineyards and a leisure complex that includes the Hotel Marqués de Riscal, an emblematic building designed by the architect Frank Gehry and inaugurated by former King Juan Carlos I." "It was Camilo Hurtado de Amézaga, VI Marquis of Riscal, who was the driving force behind the creation of the wineries that bear the name of the heirs of the Marquisate of Riscal.n. 1​ He was residing in Bordeaux when he received the order from the Provincial Council of Álava to hire a winemaker who could teach the region's growers the techniques used in the Médoc, to produce wines according to the French system. The chosen one was Jean Pineau, cellar master of the Château Lanessan cellars, with whom he signed, representing the Provincial Council, a contract to advise Alava producers. Next, Hurtado sent "nine thousand fully guaranteed vine shoots" to Rioja Alavesa, of the types Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Pinot Noir, the finest that were grown in France, to experiment in their vineyards, where grapes had been grown. of the Tempranillo and Graciano varieties. In 1858 Hurtado, who had inherited some wineries in Elciego from his father, founded the Marqués de Riscal wineries applying the techniques used in France, and hired Pineau - who had stopped working for the deputation -. In the 1895 edition of the International Exposition of Bordeaux, Marqués de Riscal became the first non-French winery to receive the Diploma of Honor."