Rioja winemaker Marcos Eguren has been distinguished as ‘Winemaker of the Year’ by the prestigious British prescriptor and Master of Wine Tim Atkin in his ‘Special Report Rioja 2023’.
The award recognises Marcos Eguren’s oenological work as the representative of a family of winegrowers from San Vicente de la Sonsierra, whose links with vine cultivation date back to 1870. Born in the town of Sonsierra, Marcos Eguren, together with his brother Miguel, is the fourth generation of a family that began bottling its production under the Sierra Cantabria brand in 1957.
“The recognition is a tribute shared with my family and with those who collaborate with us in making a collection of wines that evoke the vineyard a reality”, stresses Marcos Eguren.
Marcos Eguren completed oenology studies between 1975 and 1978 at the Escuela de la Vid de la Casa de Campo in Madrid. In the 1980s, he took over the baton from his father Guillermo in the family’s winemaking. After a first stage in which he promoted the vintage wines made by the family, faithful to the carbonic maceration method of the Sonsierra, he contributed to laying the foundations of the Rioja revolution, encouraged by his brother Miguel, to make wines that respected the singularity of the terroir, with the aim of obtaining the maximum character and identity.
From this premise, Marcos and Miguel Eguren have built for more than two decades a collection of terroir wines in the DOCa. Rioja – ‘San Vicente’, ‘Sierra Cantabria Mágico’, ‘Sierra Cantabria CVC’, ‘Amancio’, ‘Finca El Bosque’, ‘El Puntido’, and ‘La Nieta’ – with their wineries Señorío de San Vicente, Viñedos Sierra Cantabria and Viñedos de Páganos, completing the contribution made by the original ‘Sierra Cantabria’ project.
The family’s philosophy is rooted in excellence in the care of the vineyard and the utmost respect for the fruit in the winery to achieve exceptional wines that transmit the expressiveness of Tempranillo.
