About
We started CLOS CIEN because most people who love wine never get to make it.
A short story about why this exists, where we work, and the people you’ll meet if you join us.
About
Why it exists
CLOS CIEN was founded by Brian Thompson, who has lived and worked around La Rioja for over thirty years. He came for family reasons and stayed because the region got into him in a way he hadn’t expected. The villages, the food, the rhythm of the year, the way people talk about wine without making a fuss about it.
Over the years he watched the same thing happen again and again.
People would visit, sit through a tasting, fall in love with a bottle, and go home with nothing to show for it but a few cases they had ordered and a feeling they had left something behind.
Every one of them said some version of the same thing.
I’d love to make wine here one day.
And then they would never come back.
CLOS CIEN started because there had to be a better answer than that.
Not a wine club. Not a share certificate.
Something closer to what they actually wanted, which was a piece of this place with their name on it and a wine they could put on a table and say, I made that.
The PLACE
La Rioja. Three valleys. One region.
We work across all three Designations of Origin in La Rioja: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa, and Rioja Oriental. Each one drinks differently.
The Alta has altitude and structure. The Alavesa has limestone and finesse. The Oriental has warmth and generosity.
Members choose the plot that fits the wine they want to make.
The vines we work with were planted between 1945 and 1990.
This is not replanted commercial land. The region has produced two wines with perfect Parker scores. Our members are not here for the scores, but it is worth knowing what you are standing on.
How We Work
One member at a time.
We do not run cohorts. We do not take more members than we can serve well. Every plot is GPS-mapped, named, and yours alone.
Every vintage is shaped by your decisions, made with the people you’ll meet below.
We grow slowly on purpose.
THE TEAM
The people behind your wine.
Brian Thompson
Founder
Brian has lived and worked in La Rioja for over thirty years. He started CLOS CIEN to give the people who fell in love with this region a way to take a piece of it home with them. He is the person you meet at your first tasting and the person you keep talking to throughout your membership.
Miguel Angel Millán
World’s Best Sommelier, 2023
Miguel Angel has spent his career understanding what makes wine exceptional and what makes it personal. His involvement means your wine is shaped by someone who has tasted more great wine than almost anyone alive.
Jaione Ruiz de Vinaspre
Winemaker
Jaione leads production from harvest through to bottling. She works with each member on the decisions that shape what ends up in your glass: fermentation style, ageing, blending. Her knowledge of the region is deep and her approach is precise
Ignacio Miguel del Campo
Vineyard Director, 30+ years in La Rioja
Brian has lived and worked in La Rioja for over thirty years. He started CLOS CIEN to give the people who fell in love with this region a way to take a piece of it home with them. He is the person you meet at your first tasting and the person you keep talking to throughout your membership.
Ramon Garcia
Cellar Master
Ramon holds qualifications in both agronomy and winemaking, which means he understands your wine from the vine to the barrel to the bottle. He runs the cellar, the barrel programme, and the production schedule that takes your wine from harvest to delivery.
The people behind the scenes.
Ali McWalter
Marketing & Technical Director
Ali runs everything that happens between Brian and the wine. Marketing, operations, the systems behind every member’s experience. If you have spoken to us before you visit the vineyard, you have probably spoken to Ali.
Julie Ann Garcia
Communications Director
Julie handles the introductions. Most members first hear from her before they hear from anyone else, and she stays involved through every conversation that follows. The reason CLOS CIEN feels personal from the first message onwards is largely her work.
We Recommend
Come and see it for yourself.
The best way to understand CLOS CIEN is to come to a tasting. La Rioja most weekends, or we come to you if you can gather a small group somewhere else.