It is the winery’s most ambitious and special project to date: Guardacumbres, destined to become the most iconic wine of Hermanos Hernáiz. But Guardacumbres is not only a premium wine, we like to say that it is a project of recovery of wine heritage of Rioja Alta, which also has been brewing slowly over nearly a decade.
An old, wild and spectacular vineyard, located in a place of extraordinary beauty between mountains, which was about to disappear until the brothers Eduardo and Víctor Hernáiz – together with their friend and wine lover Raúl Grijalba – decided to rescue it, recovering a centenary vineyard to enhance its value by making a great wine from it.
After years of work searching for the best winemaking system, Guardacumbres is finally launched onto the market this 2025 as a jewel of artisanal conception, rooted in the personality and exceptionality of this small plot that has been kept out of modern agriculture and entirely managed using sustainable and regenerative viticulture practices.
The vineyard of Guardacumbres
In the Oja – Tirón Valley, sheltered by the Sierra de Cantabria to the north and the Sierra de la Demanda to the south and at an altitude of 600 meters, its vines grow freely among fruit trees: fig, quince, olive, almond and hazelnut trees; and the different grape varieties are also randomly interspersed: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Calagraño and Viura, as was common in the past in the vineyards of the region. A continental climate with Atlantic influence and soils rich in limestone clays but relatively shallow, with the bedrock close to the surface.
The wine: maximum expression of the vineyard
Guardacumbres blanco is elegant and deep, a wine that perfectly exemplifies the potential of an old vineyard in a cool area. A fresh and complex white, with notes of citrus peel, such as lemon and grapefruit, on a balsamic background and hints of vanilla and bakery. The aftertaste is long with hints of aniseed, fennel and honey.
Guardacumbres tinto is sweet in the mouth and very appetizing, thanks to its sweet and soft tannin. It stands out for its finesse, it is smooth, light and aromatic, with maximum fruit expression and to be enjoyed immediately, it does not need time or ageing to show its maximum splendor. Due to the blend of varieties, it is caramelized with hints of wild red fruits.
“It surprised me with its elegance and subtleness. It has depth and harmony, a beautiful texture and very fine chalky tannins. A serious addition to the portfolio. A great debut!”
Robert Parker, 2024
Guardacumbres 2022: “Red Wine Discovery of the Year” by Tim Atkin
With a very limited production that does not reach a thousand in its first vintage (850 red and 700 white), Guardacumbres comes out with several distinctions already . As the “Red Wine Discovery of the Year” chosen by the renowned Master of Wine Tim Atkin, in his annual Rioja Special Report 2024.
