Unusual Suspects
Unusual Suspects Rioja wine tour: under-the-radar cellars
A tour to taste top-notch Rioja wines with very little market exposure (only sold in Rioja or Spain)
Hidden gems of Rioja
The Unusual Suspects is a tour to explore the hidden gems of Rioja. These true under-the-radar cellars are led by small producers who make small batches of high-quality wines.
Under the-radar-cellars
They are under-the-radar cellars because despite the low profile they keep and the little market exposure they have, quality speaks for itself and that’s why the wines are directly sold to high-end restaurants only within Spain or Europe.
For us it means a lot that the producers we picked are highly praised by their fellow Riojan winemakers (there are almost 600 wineries in the region!). You’ve come all the way here and we think it makes sense that you can sample the wines that are not so likely to be found at home, what we call the hidden gems.
Number of wines tasted: 11 (at least!)
Other wine lovers' opinions on our Rioja wine tours
The true lesser-known face of Rioja wines
We feel that very often the expresions off-the-beaten-track and hidden gems are overused in the Rioja wine tourism context and have sadly become a catchphrase, rather than being an honest reflection of the hard work of these growers.
Our goal is to offer a win-win experience for both sides. You can live first hand the wonderful hand-crafted wines on this intimate tour that unveils the lesser-known face of Rioja wines, whereas they get some market exposure and feedback. Sometimes you just come across extremely gifted people throughout your career. We have been blessed to meet them and feel grateful to introduce them to genuine wine lovers and wine enthusiasts like you.
You will visit to 3 under-the-radar cellars and enjoy a private guided tour at one of them, along with 3 tastings.
These are usually “one-man band” characters, very talented grapegrowers and winemakers that make top-notch wines with little marketing resources. The facilities are not state of the art because they focus on the vineyards. Once you see their hands and the passion they put into it you’ll understand why it’s a true off-the-beaten-track experience.
This is the itinerary:
- 9am hotel pick up check pick up towns here
Hotel pick up and drop off in the towns of Logroño, Laguardia, Villabuena, Elciego, Ábalos, Briones, Haro and Briñas.
- Tasting session of 3 signature wines at a high-end terroir-oriented winery
- Tasting session of 3 high-quality wines at a small winery not open to the general public (word of mouth amongst sommeliers)
- Tasting session of 4 fine wines at a top quality small boutique winery that only sells to high-end restaurants
- Farm-to-table freshly-made lunch paired with 1 wine at our private entertainment room in a quaint medieval village . The dining room is perched up on a hill, beneath a church and a 12th-century castle.
- 6pm hotel drop off