Viñedos Aldo César Palafox

The house

Editorial review · reviewed on October 11, 2026

South of Ensenada, the highway to Santo Tomás leaves the traffic of Guadalupe Valley behind and enters Valle de la Grulla, a cool valley where the Pacific breeze arrives through the Cañón de las Ánimas and the soils are clay and sand. At the km 42 marker, among oak trees, the Palafox family has stored its wine underground since 2009.

The story goes back further. The Palafoxes were making wine in Santo Tomás as early as the 19th century, then only for their own table. In 1997 they planted quality wine varieties to start over, and in 2006 they put their first two commercial brands, Marijá and Pionero, into barrel. Both reached the market in 2009, the year they opened the underground winery.

Since 2016 the house has been advised by winemaker Lulú Martínez Ojeda, trained in Bordeaux, who has also led the winemaking at Bruma. The reds ferment in stainless steel before moving to barrel, and the oak-aged Chenin Blanc, Quercus, takes its name from the valley's oaks.

Tastings are poured in the cellar or outdoors among vineyards, oaks, and gardens, and on request a guided tour of the winery can be added. The family also offers a full-day outing along the old wine route, the one that ran through the valleys south of the port before Guadalupe Valley drew all the attention.