Faustino

From Oyón to the world: 160 years of Familia Martínez Zabala

Bodegas Faustino was founded in 1861 by Eleuterio Martínez Arzok in Oyón, Rioja Alavesa – at that time still a bulk wine business, created from the purchase of an old palace and its associated vineyards. His son, Faustino Martínez Pérez de Albéniz, was the first to bottle the bodega's wines, laying the foundation for today's brand identity. In the 1950s, his grandson, Julio Faustino Martínez, took the next step: he turned Faustino into an international brand and sent the first shipment to Austria in the 1960s – the starting signal for global expansion.

Today, the fourth generation leads the bodega: sisters Carmen Martínez Zabala as President and Lourdes Martínez Zabala as CEO manage the house and have taken it into more than 140 countries. Faustino is thus one of the few family-owned businesses in Rioja that combines more than a century of continuity with global distribution – without ever giving up ownership.

Great heritage, precise technology: Vineyard and cellar in Oyón

With around 650 hectares of its own vineyards, spread across the municipalities of Laguardia, Oyón, Logroño, and Mendavia, Faustino is one of the largest vineyard owners in the entire Rioja region. The sites of Rioja Alavesa are located on calcareous-clay soils under Atlantic influence – cool nights, warm days, and little rainfall in summer. These natural conditions are the basis for Tempranillo, Graciano, Mazuelo, and Viura. The estate's own vineyards provide 100 percent of the grapes for all Reserva and Gran Reserva wines; for young wines, long-standing partner winemakers supplement the harvest.

In the cellar, precision and patience are equally important. More than 60,000 oak barrels and around nine million bottles are stored in the aging cellar – one of the largest capacities in the region. The cellar team works with vineyard yeasts, inert gases, and consistent oxidation control in every production phase to protect the freshness and structure of the wines. In terms of sustainability, Faustino set a milestone in 2023: it was the first bodega in Rioja to be certified according to the Sustainable Wineries for Climate Protection (SWfCP) standard. At the same time, the winery is actively researching climate-resilient clones and grape varieties to be able to react to changing ripening cycles.

Tempranillo with depth: what distinguishes Faustino wines

The range is clearly structured according to classic Rioja logic: Faustino VII stands for fresh, accessible young wines in red and white, Faustino V for Reservas with barrel aging, and Faustino I for Gran Reservas with extended cellar and bottle aging. At the top is the Gran Faustino – a wine that the bodega only produces in exceptional vintages and which is released onto the market after 20 years of aging. The centerpiece is the Faustino I Gran Reserva: a cuvée of Tempranillo, Graciano, and Mazuelo, aged in American and French oak, recognizable by the frosted burgundy bottle with the Rembrandt portrait of the merchant Nicolaes van Bambeeck. It is considered the best-selling Gran Reserva of the DOCa Rioja worldwide.

What all Faustino wines have in common is a stylistic basic principle: wines are only released onto the market when fruit, oak, and acidity have found a common rhythm. This makes them interesting both for immediate enjoyment at the table and for the private cellar – for Rioja beginners as well as for collectors looking for classic Spanish wine culture in a bottle.