The traditional winery "Bodegas Faustino (Martínez)" is located in the municipality of Oyón near Logroño in the Spanish Rioja sub-region of Rioja-Alavesa. It was founded in 1860 by Eleuterio Martínez Arzok, who still sold his wines in barrels. His son Faustino Martínez Pérez de Albéniz took over the business in 1930 and began bottling and marketing the wines under his own name for the first time. In 1960, the founder's grandson Julio Faustino Martínez established the company's international reputation with the famous "Faustino" line. Today, José Luis Fernandez de Jubera is the fourth generation of the family to run the company.
The company's own vineyards cover a total of 650 hectares of vines in the four municipalities of Oyón, Laguardia, Logroño and Mendavia. Grapes are also bought in on a large scale. There are 50,000 barrique barrels available for ageing the wines, three quarters of which are made from American oak and a quarter from French oak. Around one sixth of the barrels are replaced with new ones every year. The Campillo (Rioja), Leganza (Toledo), Marques de Vitoria (Rioja), Portia (Ribera del Duero), Valcarlos (Navarra) and Victorianas (Rioja) wineries also belong to the empire.
The hallmark, especially of the Gran Reservas, is the Burgundy bottle with gold-coloured braiding featuring Rembrandt's portrait of Nicolaes van Bambeeck. The flagship of the house is the red wine "Faustino I Gran Reserva". It is made from a high proportion of Tempranillo with a little Graciano and Mazuelo, matures for at least 24 months in 80% American and 20% French barriques and a further 36 months in the bottle. The wine is therefore released on the market in the sixth year after the grape harvest at the earliest. The best vintages are 1964, 1970, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994 and 1995. The red wine "Faustino V Reserva" matures for 16 months and the red wine "Faustino VII" for 10 months, both in American oak.
Both are made from a high proportion of Tempranillo with a little Mazuelo. The "Faustino V" is also available in white from 100% Viura and in rosé from 100% Tempranillo. The "Faustino VII" is also available in rosé from 80% Tempranillo and 20% Graciano. The "Faustino de Autor" is blended from Tempranillo with a little Graciano and matures for 24 months in French barriques. The "Faustino Selección de Familia" is made from 100% Tempranillo; it matures for 11 months in light-coloured American barriques and 5 months in French barriques. The wines are bottled in light-coloured frosted glass bottles with labels designed by famous painters. Cava (sparkling wine) is also produced from the Chardonnay and Macabeo varieties.
