Bodegas Excelencia
Red wine made a few kilometres from the Roman ruins of Acinipo — and the man behind it is the winemaker who brought red back to Ronda in 1991.
Two thousand years ago, the Roman town of Acinipo made wine on this hill and shipped it across the empire. The town is a ruin now — Ronda la Vieja — and its vines are long gone. Bodegas Excelencia planted new ones a few kilometres away, on the same high ground, in 2006.
The wine here is good for one reason above all the others: the man who makes it.
The man who brought red wine back to Ronda
Juan Manuel Vetas was born in Ávila and moved to France as a child, with his parents, to the one part of the country where that move changes a life.
"I emigrated to France at eight or nine, with my parents, to Bordeaux — the heart of good wine. That's where I caught the bug."
- Juan Manuel Vetas, winemaker
He trained in oenology and spent his early career in the Médoc, working at Margaux estates including Château Prieuré-Lichine. It was through that house — through Sacha Lichine — that he came back to Spain. In the late 1980s, Prince Alfonso de Hohenlohe was looking for someone to plant vines and make red wine in Ronda, where nobody made serious red. Vetas took the job.
A winery built as a promise
Excelencia started in 2006, not as a company but as a group of friends — people who loved wine and loved the countryside — who bought an eight-hectare estate in the hills above Ronda, by Ronda la Vieja.
The land came with its own argument for being there: it sits ringed by centuries-old olive and holm oak trees, a few kilometres from the ruins of Acinipo, where the Romans had already worked out that this was good ground for vines.
The name was a standard they set themselves. As the founders put it, the point was to spare no effort in reaching excellence across every part of the project — and to hold that bar high enough that it kept pushing them. It’s a bold thing to call your winery. The wines have to earn it.
Visiting Bodegas Excelencia
Excelencia is set up for visitors — it’s part of the Ruta del Vino de Ronda, with a tasting room and space for lunch and events. You book ahead; groups are kept small, usually around eight to ten people.
The visit walks you through the vineyard first (“good wine is made in the vines,” as they put it), then the working winery — the fermentation room, the bottling line, the barrel cellar — and finishes in the tasting room. Vine to glass, in order.
Two set experiences, plus tailored visits and events on request.
Essentials
Experiences
| Activity | What's included | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Guided tour + tasting | Vineyard, cellar and tasting room, with a tasting of the wines | €25 pp |
| Tour + tasting + lunch | The full visit plus lunch at the bodega | €50 pp |
| Tailored visits / events | Custom experiences and private events | On request |
Getting there
The bodega sits by Ronda la Vieja, about 20 km north-west of Ronda — roughly a 25-minute drive on the road towards the Acinipo archaeological site. The obvious move: make a day of it. Tour the Roman theatre at Acinipo, then drive the last few minutes to taste wine grown on the same hill. Take the exact address and coordinates with you; the final approach is rural and lightly signed.
The wines
Five wines, all built from Bordeaux and Mediterranean grapes grown at altitude. Each variety is harvested, fermented and aged separately; Vetas decides the final blends in barrel, vintage by vintage.
Los Frontones — the flagship. A crianza blend of four grapes: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Syrah. Red and black fruit, with toast and chocolate from the barrel; balanced rather than heavy.
Tagus — a roble (lightly oaked) red, 100% Cabernet Franc. The grape on its own, less time in wood. This wine is unlike any other we’ve tasted in the region. It has a flavour that’s unique to Andalusia and is a must-try.
Rondarte — a young, unoaked red, 100% Tempranillo. The easy one to open on a Tuesday.
Viña Darón — a rosé, 100% Cabernet Franc, made by the sangrado (bleed) method.
Rediel Blanc — the white, from Moscatel Morisco and Pedro Ximénez.
The vineyard
Seven hectares of vines on an eight-hectare estate, trained on trellises (espaldera). The soil is sandy clay over limestone — the calcareous base that gives Ronda fruit its backbone.
The climate does the rest. Days are hot, nights are cold, and rainfall sits at around 750 mm a year. That swing between day and night temperatures is what keeps the acidity up as the grapes ripen — the reason reds from this height stay fresh instead of turning jammy.
In the cellar, everything is kept apart: each grape vinified on its own, long ageing in barrel, the blends pulled together by hand at the end.
In the cellar, everything is kept apart: each grape vinified on its own, long ageing in barrel, the blends pulled together by hand at the end.
- +34 628 11 55 61
- ronda@bodegasexcelencia.com
- Cordel del Puerto a El Quejigal, Ronda, Málaga
Gallery
FAQ
What is Bodegas Excelencia?
Bodegas Excelencia is a small red-wine producer in the hills above Ronda, Málaga, founded in 2006 by a group of friends on an eight-hectare estate by Ronda la Vieja. Its wines are made by Juan Manuel Vetas, the winemaker widely credited with reviving red wine in Ronda. The flagship is Los Frontones, a four-grape crianza under DO Sierras de Málaga.
Who makes the wine at Bodegas Excelencia?
Juan Manuel Vetas, the bodega’s technical director. Trained in Bordeaux and the Médoc, he planted the first modern red-wine vines in Ronda at the Cortijo de las Monjas in 1991 and is considered the pioneer of the region’s reds. He also founded his own winery, Bodega Vetas, in nearby Arriate.
Can you visit Bodegas Excelencia?
Yes — it’s a working enotourism winery on the Ruta del Vino de Ronda. A guided tour and tasting starts at €25 per person, and a tour with tasting and lunch is €50; tailored visits and events are available on request. Book ahead, as groups are small; you can also buy wine at the winery daily from 10:00 to 14:00.
What wines does Bodegas Excelencia make?
Five: Los Frontones (a red crianza of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Syrah), Tagus (a 100% Cabernet Franc roble), Rondarte (a young 100% Tempranillo), Viña Darón (a Cabernet Franc rosé) and Rediel Blanc (a white from Moscatel Morisco and Pedro Ximénez).
Can I buy Excelencia wines in the UK?
There’s no dedicated UK importer at the time of writing. The bodega’s own online shop ships within Spain (free within Spain), so the realistic routes from the UK are a Spanish merchant that ships abroad, or — better — a case bought on a visit and carried home.