Miguel Merino Winery, Briones

I drove by today very spontaneously, as the winery was on my way from Salamanca to Bilbao. The tastings for the day were unfortunately already fully booked and the farm store closed due to too much demand, so it's best to call or email in advance regarding appointments. Nonetheless, Erika showed me the wine cellars and presented two wines for free tasting. Erika is a super polite, accommodating and great personality, thanks again for that! By the way, her English is excellent! The wines (Vitola Reserva and Blanco) were absolutely top notch, so I went straight to a distributor afterwards and bought a few bottles. Thanks again! You guys are great!

By far the best wine we tasted in La Rioja. Many Yelp reviews start out the same way, but not from a person who tasted wine at 23 Bodegas in the Rioja Alta and Alavesa DOC. Having now tasted wine at over 225 wineries around the world, I can say that the three red wines we tasted here are spectacular representations of Tempranillo. All were showing great fruit, perfumed nose and rich color. We tasted a beautiful white wine that Miguel makes in limited quantities and not every year. We tasted 3 reds: 2012 Reserva, 2012 Gran Reserva and the 2015 Vina Jovenes. The price range was between 10 - 14 Euros. Wines of this quality at these price points have made the region wildly popular, spoiled the Europeans and simultaneously frustrated the US market with the high cost of shipping/distribution and marketing. Our tasting was hosted by Miguel himself. His son Miguel, daughter-in-law, Erika joined in along with 8 friends who were from Spain. We were especially happy for Miguel and his new grandchild. If you have limited time in La Rioja, visit Miguel. Going anywhere else could be a huge disappointment and a large waste of your time. Contact him before your visit to make sure someone is there for your tasting. We found him very responsive on email. His Bodega is right outside the walls of the medieval village of Briones. We wished Miguel and long and happy life in his new role as grandfather. The USA source for Bodegas Miguel Merino is K&L Wine Merchants. They have various locations. The representative is Shaun Green in the Redwood City office.

Great hospitality by Erika and Miguel. Thankful to them for hosting us. Great wines, all very well thought out and processed. Muchos Gracias.

My friends and I had an incredible time at Miguel Merino! The wines are exquisite and Erika was both passionate and knowledgeable in giving the tour. Especially after touring some of the larger bodegas in Haro, we really enjoyed the intimate experience at this family winery. Their wines are beautiful and their hospitality is amazing; I would highly recommend to anyone in the area!!

We are always delighted when we visit this small, outstanding, father-son winery located below the hilltown of Briones. This is one of our favorite wineries to take guests since the visit is so personal. Guided tours are now available Monday-Saturday, normally starting at 10:00 am and 12:00 pm, but other times can be scheduled. This is a small family operation, so you must reserve in advance.