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Ondarre Rioja Graciano offers a rare opportunity to discover one of Rioja's traditional supporting grapes on its own. Ripe blueberry, blackberry and plum meet floral fragrance, balsamic freshness and savoury spice, while carefully judged oak adds polish and familiar Rioja character without disguising what makes Graciano distinctive.
Full-flavoured and structured yet lifted by naturally lively acidity, this is an excellent bridge between familiar Rioja and something genuinely different. Choose it when you're curious about Graciano but still want the richness, balance and refinement you associate with a polished Rioja red — distinctive enough to broaden your horizons without leaving familiar territory completely behind.
Merchant's Tip
If you normally buy Tempranillo-led Rioja but fancy discovering something different, this is a particularly easy place to start. There's enough ripe fruit, structure and oak to feel reassuringly like Rioja, but Graciano changes the experience: it's more fragrant, energetic and savoury, with a freshness that becomes increasingly noticeable as you drink it.
Appearance: Deep purple-red with vibrant violet highlights.
Nose: Expressive blueberry, blackberry and dark plum are joined by floral notes, pepper, dried herbs and a distinctive balsamic freshness, with gentle spice and oak sitting beneath the fruit.
Palate: Full-flavoured and structured, with juicy dark berries, savoury spice and polished oak balanced by Graciano's lively acidity. There's plenty of concentration, but the freshness gives the wine energy and definition rather than allowing it to become heavy.
Finish: Long and fresh, with lingering dark fruit, spice, dried herbs and a gently balsamic, savoury character.
Choose this if you already enjoy Rioja but are curious about what lies beyond the familiar Tempranillo-led styles. Graciano normally contributes freshness, fragrance and structure as part of a blend; here it gets the opportunity to show you those qualities on its own.
Ondarre makes that exploration particularly approachable. The wine still has ripe dark fruit, substantial structure and enough oak-derived spice and polish to feel recognisably Riojan, but its floral fragrance, balsamic character, savoury edge and lively acidity give it a noticeably different personality.
If your priority is simply a familiar, classically styled Rioja, one of Ondarre's Tempranillo-led wines will probably answer that need more directly. Choose the Graciano when familiarity isn't quite enough and you want your next bottle of Rioja to show you something new.
Graciano itself is the main reason this wine tastes different. In traditional Rioja blends the grape is valued for the fragrance, freshness, colour and structure it can contribute alongside Tempranillo. Making the wine entirely from Graciano allows those characteristics to move from the background to the centre of the experience.
Ondarre also allows the fruit to reach good maturity, giving the wine generous blueberry, blackberry and plum flavours alongside Graciano's naturally fresher, more aromatic and savoury character. The result has genuine concentration and structure, but lively acidity prevents that richness from becoming heavy.
Oak maturation then adds spice, texture and polish without turning the wine into another conventional oak-led Rioja. That's an important part of its character: enough familiar Rioja styling remains to make the wine immediately approachable, while Graciano's perfume, freshness and balsamic, savoury flavours remain clearly identifiable.
The combination of dark fruit, freshness and savoury structure makes Ondarre Graciano particularly good with roast lamb, beef, venison and other richly flavoured meats. Its acidity is useful with fattier dishes, refreshing the palate between mouthfuls rather than allowing the combination to become too rich.
Grilled mushrooms, lentil dishes, charred vegetables, Manchego and mature hard cheeses also work particularly well with its earthy, herbal and savoury side.
Serve at around 16–18°C. Opening the bottle around thirty minutes before drinking should give the fruit, floral aromas and spice time to become more expressive.
For more meal-led recommendations, visit our Rioja Food Pairing Guide.
We don't stock Ondarre Graciano simply because 100% Graciano is unusual. It earns its place because it provides a genuinely useful route from the Rioja many customers already understand into something different.
Ondarre's interpretation makes that journey particularly accessible. There's plenty of ripe fruit, structure and polished Rioja character to provide reassurance, while Graciano brings the fragrance, freshness and savoury personality that make the bottle worth exploring in the first place.
And that's important because this isn't our only Graciano. If you want an expression that moves further away from familiar Rioja styling, our Bhilar Graciano provides a different route into the same grape. Ondarre is the bottle we'd start with when you want to discover Graciano while keeping one foot comfortably in familiar Rioja territory.
If discovering Graciano is what brought you here, browse our Graciano wines to see the different expressions we have chosen to stock.
For a better understanding of why this lesser-known grape matters in Rioja, read our Graciano – Rioja's Hidden Gem guide.
Or, if you want to see how this wine fits alongside Ondarre's more familiar Rioja styles, browse our Bodegas Ondarre wines or read our Bodegas Ondarre guide.
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