Carlos San Pedro is one of the leading winemakers in Rioja and a clear representative of modernity in the region. This winery is his personal project. As a member of a well-known wine dynasty from Laguardia (Rioja Alavesa), he went solo with one of the family vineyards planted by his father. La Viña Grande (also known as Finca Valdepoleo) has 15 hectares and lies at over 600 metres of altitude under the proctective shadow of Sierra de Cantabria. The first vintage in the market was 1998 but the winery was not built until three years later.

Formerly called Hado, his entry-level red Pujanza (100,000 bottles, €14.50) was born from this first vineyard, which is now a fruit-forward, easy drinking 100% Tempranillo sourced from 23 plots which vary according to the vintage characteristics. It is aged in 225-litre French oak barrels for 12 months.

From the original vineyard, after the 2011 vintage, San Pedro launched Finca Valdepoleo (40,000 bottles, €23) which includes seven parcels vinified separately and presented on Burgundy bottles.

There are four single vineyard wines. The most important is Pujanza Norte (11,000 bottles, €52), which comes from one of the highest vineyards in Laguardia (720 metres), a long, narrow and windy plot where the calcareous rock lies near the surface. It was a present from his father on his 18th birthday and Carlos planted the vineyard with his own hands. This 100% Tempranillo is aged in French oak barrels (12 months) and concrete (12 months). Theh wine is fragrant and elegant, with good tension.

Cisma (1,000 bottles, €160) is a rare bottling which comes from the tiny La Valcavada plot, planted straight on the rootstock and without grafting by his grandfather more than 80 years ago. More concentrated, it commands a much higher price. Production of Pujanza Añadas Frías (2,700 bottles, €52) is even more anecdotal. Its Viura grapes come from the San Juan de Anteportalantina plot, which lies at 600 metres on calcareous soils. As its name suggests, it is only made on the coolest vintages. Climate change does not help much hence the only examples to date are the 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2023 vintages. When Añadas Frías in not made, a white wine is produced all the same, but it is sold as S.J. Anteportalatina at a lower price (€48).

Since the 2016 vintage, the winery makes La Paul (10,000 bottles, €37), a 100% Tempranillo from the vineyard of the same name, an east-facing hillside with clay soils right on the edge of Laguardia. It has a more Mediterranean, rounded profile than other wines, with polished tannins.

Carlos San Pedro's wines are generally a good example of modern Rioja. They are fruit-driven, expressive and round on the palate, with acidity as the guiding element helping them to be drinkable and balanced.

In 2020, Pujanza launched Voelos, a line of classic, easy-drinking reds with the distinctive traditional ageing characteristics of Crianza and Reserva. These are two reasonably priced wines (€10-13) in Bordeaux bottles that blend grapes from the Sonsierra region that were discarded for the Pujanza wines.