Today, we officially welcome Marqués de Riscal to the VINTUS national portfolio. This iconic estate epitomizes Spanish winemaking heritage and innovation. Founded in 1858, they are one of the oldest wineries of the Rioja region, and were the very first to establish a winery in Rueda. Riscal also proudly presides over the largest historical wine cellar in Europe, with a collection of every vintage dating back to the 1860s. Today, all vineyards are under direct management to ensure the highest possible farming standards.
SHANKEN NEWS DAILY
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
New York-based importer and marketer Vintus, whose luxury wine portfolio totals around 500,000 cases, made several key additions to its range last year, and it has hit the ground running again in 2025. Last month, Vintus expanded its Italy portfolio with the Frescobaldi brand, and now it’s welcoming 60,000-case Spanish label Marques de Riscal to its range.
“With Marques de Riscal, we believe that this brand defines premium Spanish wine for the United States-the Reserva is the number-one selling Spanish wine above $15 in the country,” Vintus CEO Michael Quinttus told SND. Marques de Riscal owns 540 hectares (1,334 acres) of vineyards in Rioja Alavesa and directly manages another 900 hectares (2,224 acres) in the surrounding areas.
Key wines in the portfolio include Rioja Reserva ($28), Verdejo ($18), and Arienzo Crianza ($20), with retail prices ranging from $18-$150 a bottle. “There is a generation of restaurant buyers that need to taste their iconic Reserva to understand why this wine is the archetype of Rioja,” said Quinttus, adding that upscale wines like Marques de Riscal Gran Reserva ($84) and Baron de Chirel ($148) also have “enormous expansion opportunity.”
In addition to Rioja, Marques de Riscal markets organic Verdejo from the Rueda region, where it was the first Rioja winery to lay down roots. The Verdejo is well-positioned to grow given the current consumer affinity for refreshing white wines, observed Quinttus. “Fresh, distinctive whites are category winners right now,” he said.
Quinttus acknowledged that Spanish still reds have declined at retail lately, with value down 5% in Nielsen channels over the past year, but noted that Marques de Riscal’s flagship Reserva bucked the trend, rising by 3%. In the on-premise, he said the focus will be on “expanding Riscal’s footprint through by-the-glass placements while using prestige list placements to highlight the exceptional quality of its limited-production wines.”
The additions of Riscal and Frescobaldi early this year follow an active 2024 for Vintus, which last year expanded its French portfolio with five new brands: Roseblood from Chateau d’Estoublon, Beaujolais estate Chateau de la Chaize, the Sancerre estate Hubert Brochard, William Fevre in Chablis, and Domaine D’Aussieres in Languedoc. Vintus saw single-digit growth overall last year in a down market, Quinttus said, adding that this year he sees “important opportunities for these new brands, as well as many other premium brands in our portfolio.”
