Vermut Lacuesta Rojo Vermouth 750ml

Bodegas Martínez Lacuesta was founded in Haro, in Spain's Rioja Alta, in 1895, and became the first winery in the region to produce vermouth after José Martínez Lacuesta acquired a formula in 1937 from José Jové Arnabat, a producer from Villafranca del Penedés. That expansion put Rioja alongside Reus and Jerez as one of only a handful of Spanish vermouth-producing regions at the time. The winery remains family-run today, having invested in a new production facility in 2015 while continuing to base its wine business on Tempranillo grown in the hills west of Haro.

Rojo starts as a white wine base into which the family's proprietary blend, known internally as the conzia, is macerated: nearly thirty aromatic herbs, spices, and plants, including chamomile, gentian, and vanilla, extracted through cold maceration rather than heat. Sugar, citric acid, caramel, and alcohol round out the formula before the finished vermouth spends time in oak, giving it a nutty, rounded character that sets it apart from lighter Mediterranean styles.

In the glass, Rojo shows a warm nut-brown hue with a nearly neutral aroma that opens into herbal complexity on the palate. Flavors of dried orange, cinnamon, and stewed dark fruit lead to a long, bittersweet finish balanced by gentle acidity.