Graciano

Graciano carries the VIVC prime name Graciano, variety number 4935. Its likely homeland is Spain: VIVC records Spain as its country or region of origin, a single-source record. Its parents are unknown: both parent fields in its VIVC passport are blank, and no full pedigree is recorded.

• VIVC prime name: Graciano; VIVC variety number 4935
• Country of origin: Spain (likely; single source)
• Parents: none recorded (parentage unknown)

Graciano is an autochthonous variety from Rioja and one of the region's main native reds, alongside Garnacha and Mazuelo. Decanter has reported that Tempranillo is easier for contract growers to grow and sell than those other native reds. Single-varietal reds from Graciano, as from Garnacha and Mazuelo, are on the increase in Rioja. Contino has made an effort to rescue the grape since 1994, and Rioja's first single-varietal Graciano was made for Viña Ijalba in 1995.

• Autochthonous to Rioja
• One of Rioja's main native reds, with Garnacha and Mazuelo
• Contino has worked to rescue the grape since 1994
• Rioja's first single-varietal Graciano was made for Viña Ijalba in 1995

Graciano's home is Rioja, where it needs clay-limestone soils with a certain degree of freshness. It remains a rare grape. Graciano is also native to Navarra, where its presence is historic and it is planted mainly in the Ribera Alta and Ribera Baja. Beyond Spain it is known as Tinta Miúda in Portugal and as Morrastel in the Languedoc. In Australia, Brown Brothers made a varietal Graciano early enough that Juan Carlos Sancha, who made Rioja's first single-varietal Graciano in 1995, says his would otherwise have been the first in the world.

• Home base: Rioja
• Needs clay-limestone soils with a certain degree of freshness
• Known as Tinta Miúda in Portugal and Morrastel in the Languedoc
• Brown Brothers in Australia bottled a varietal Graciano before Rioja's first in 1995, by Juan Carlos Sancha's account
• Also native to Navarra, mainly in the Ribera Alta and Ribera Baja

Graciano gives tannic wines with an intense red colour, violet hints and high aromatic intensity. The berries are small, with a very dark blue-violet skin and juicy, unpigmented pulp. Aromas run to red and black fruit, liquorice and flowers, and the grape can yield mulberry-scented wines. Its polyphenols and its acidity, higher than in other Rioja varieties, make it ideal for wines built to age, and with time those wines show balsamic, leather, liquorice and sour almond notes. In Rioja it complements Tempranillo in wines made for ageing.

• Intense red colour with violet hints
• Small berries with a very dark blue-violet skin and juicy, unpigmented pulp
• Tannic, with acidity higher than in other Rioja varieties
• Aromas of red and black fruit, liquorice and flowers; can yield mulberry-scented wines
• Develops balsamic, leather, liquorice and sour almond notes with age

Graciano is notoriously hard to grow. It ripens late and has low fertility, and one Rioja producer puts its yields at half those of Tempranillo. It needs clay-limestone soils with a certain degree of freshness.

• Late ripening
• Low fertility; one Rioja producer puts its yields at half those of Tempranillo
• Notoriously hard to grow

Graciano is increasingly finding its way into varietal bottlings in Rioja as well as blends. Contino has made an effort to rescue the grape since 1994, and its Contino Graciano is 100% Graciano, made from the 3.7-hectare San Gregorio Grande vineyard, planted in 1979 and 1989. López de Heredia's Viña Tondonia Red Gran Reserva blends Tempranillo and Garnacho with Mazuelo and Graciano, which together make up 10%. Roda, from Rioja Alta, is among the Rioja wines that include Graciano. Outside Spain, Brown Brothers in Australia was an early producer of varietal Graciano, by Juan Carlos Sancha's account.

• Contino: has made an effort to rescue Graciano since 1994
• López de Heredia: Graciano in the Viña Tondonia Red Gran Reserva blend
• Roda: a Rioja Alta wine that includes Graciano
• Brown Brothers: an early varietal Graciano in Australia, by Juan Carlos Sancha's account
• Contino Graciano: 100% Graciano, from the 3.7-hectare San Gregorio Grande vineyard

Primary sources: https://www.vivc.de/index.php?r=passport%2Fview&id=4935 ; https://riojawine.com/en-gb/the-designation/grape-varieties/graciano/ ; https://www.lopezdeheredia.com/english/vinos/tondoniaGRT.html ; https://cvne.com/en/wines/contino-graciano/ ; https://navarrawine.com/variedades-de-uva/ Reference sources: https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/grape-varieties/red/graciano ; https://www.decanter.com/features/rioja-the-rise-of-indigenous-grape-varieties-246627/ ; https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2022/09/bodegas-manzanos-two-brothers-pioneers-of-rioja/ Last verified 2026-10-19