On the banks of the Ebro river, the privileged location of Bodegas Franco-Españolas allows you to arrive in a short walk from the historic center of the city of Logroño, without the need to drive a car.
This centenary winery opened its doors to the public in 2009 and, since then, has developed an innovative wine tourism proposal, incorporating other exclusive experiences such as Theater with Diamonds, Summer Cinema, Hallowine, Fashion Day and MUWI La Rioja Music Fest, among others.
The winery has received the Best Of Wine Tourism Award of the Great Wine Capitals, Global Networks among other important awards.
Centennial history
Bodegas Franco-Españolas was born in 1890 as the union between France and Spain at a peak in Rioja, when the French winemakers came to the region trying to replace their vineyards devastated by the phylloxera disease. It was the origin of the fine wines from Rioja.
All this led Frederick Anglade Saurat, a native of Bordeaux, to found Bodegas Franco-Españolas in 1890. The first harvest, a year later, results in the winery’s most iconic wines: Diamante and Estilo Burgundy. This was renamed Rioja Bordón in the 1950s, and in 2017 it was redesigned as Bordón.
In 1920, fifteen years after Anglade’s death, the French sold their shares and the winery became entirely Spanish. King Alfonso XIII visits the winery in 1903 and in 1925. Ernest Hemingway did the same in 1956.
The end of Prohibition in the US in 1933 and the resurgence of the Regulatory Council in 1953 will give a boost to the exports of Rioja wines. Bodegas Franco-Españolas has an strong presence in large European wine markets, as well as in Caracas, Buenos Aires, Havana and New York. 1964 is an excellent vintage, perhaps the best of the century.
In 1984, the businessman Marcos Eguizábal (1919 – 2009) bought Bodegas Franco-Españolas, and in 1990 the first centenary of the winery was celebrated. In 2012 the image of Diamante and Rioja Bordón wines was renewed, and in 2013 the winery received the Best Of Wine Tourism award in the Innovative Experiences category.
In 2016, Borja Eguizábal assumes the management, giving way to the third generation of the Eguizábal family as owners of the winery. Rioja Bordón was relaunched in 2017 and became Bordón, with a new concept: “Blatantly classic”.
In 2020 the winery celebrated its 130th anniversary. Its privileged location, on the banks of the Ebro river, has made Bodegas Franco-Españolas a witness to the history of Logroño. In the hands of the Eguizábal Family since 1984, it is currently immersed in new projects and is a benchmark among the leisure and cultural offer of La Rioja with its varied wine tourism proposals.
Calle Cabo Noval, 2. 26009 Logroño.
