Founded as a cooperative in 1962 in Miedes (Zaragoza), its name honours Saint Alexander, whose remains are buried in the village's Franciscan convent. Its logo is inspired by the reliquary of the oldest religious brotherhood in the town.
Like most Garnacha producers in Aragón, the wines are primarily exported with 85% of the cooperative’s production sold abroad. Its wines are distributed across a range of international markets, with Norway and the US among the most important. Marqués de Nombrevilla, a spicy and straightforward young mountain Garnacha sold in bag-in-box, is the best-selling red in Scandinavia. In the US, the winery enjoyed a successful partnership with Gallo until the mid-2020s, distributing Las Rocas de San Alejandro under a co-branding arrangement. It retains a similar agreement with Eric Solomon for Evodia. Today, Las Rocas is a brand wholly owned by the cooperative.
San Alejandro sources grapes from 950 hectares of vines (1,250 plots) owned by 15 families in the region. Of these, 330 hectares are organically certified, making the cooperative the largest grower of organically farmed vines in Aragón. This has led to the creation of Querencia, a range of organic wines produced at separate facilities and launched in 2023, as well as an affordable collection of orange and sulphite-free wines. The intention is for most of the winery’s brands to gradually adopt organic certification.
The cooperative makes the most of its vineyards' high elevation (800 to 1,075 metres), which means slow ripening cycles and a wide diversity of soils, ranging from slate to gravel and, to a lesser extent, chalk-clay.
Good value
San Alejandro produces around 2.8 million bottles. Viñas de Miedes, the entry-level range, comes from vines aged under 35 years planted in chalk-clay soils and is sold in large retail stores, supermarkets, bars and restaurants.
Garnacha is fully expressed in the Baltasar Gracián range (400,000 bottles), named after the famous 17th century writer born in Calatayud. It offers almost unbeatable value: most wines are sold under €13. Made from old vines picked relatively early and aged for a brief period of time in concrete tanks, El Político is a great introduction to the region’s mountain climate. El Héroe Viñas Viejas is riper and creamier, and both the Crianza and Reserva include some Syrah in the blend. The Viura and Garnacha Blanca blend offers outstanding value. Retailing at €16 in Spain, Clos Baltasar is the top red of this range. Grapes are sourced from vineyards grown at high elevation in the Sierra Santa Cruz and the wine is partially fermented with whole bunches and aged in concrete and French oak.
Premium wines
The cooperative has entered the premium segment through a recent joint venture with Bodegas Frontonio to make the Cuevas de Arom range. This brand and Clos Baltasar are both made in separate winemaking facilities designed to work with greater detail and smaller volumes. In 2025, a second space called Atelier was built to age the 20 plots that the cooperative vinifies separately on a regular basis. It was completed in time for the release of Loma Franca, a new super-premium range consisting of two single vineyards per vintage: a white and a red with a retail price of €90 in Spain.
San Alejandro pioneered wine tourism in Calatayud. There are several tours which include a visit to the Theatre of Nature and Senses exhibition. Espacio Baltasar houses a restaurant, conference room, wine bar and a space called “Baltasar's corner”, to learn more about the Aragon-born writer. The mix of paintings and decorative details in this and other spaces across the facilities creates a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere.