125 years of Rioja’s Biggest pride!– LA RIOJA ALTA S.A

Rioja, which is a highly regarded area of Spain makes some of the best Tempranillo-based wines in the world. Once the only DOCa (recently joined by Priorat in 2001), Rioja is divided into 3 sub-regions: Rioja Baja, Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa. There are 4 red varieties and 3 white varieties allowed in the Rioja DOC. Tempranillo definitely takes center stage, followed by Garnacha (Grenache)), which is sometimes added for body, then Graciano and Mazuelo (Carignan). The region also makes roses. For whites, the main grape is Viura (or Macebo), producing fresh, early-drinking wines. Malvasia, the grape that was once the most planted white, is found less often.

Happy 125th Anniversary!

This year, La Rioja Alta S.A., one of the best wineries of the world, celebrates its 125th harvest. La Rioja Alta S.A. is a parent company of a wine group consisting of four wineries located in the most renewed regions in Spain: Rioja, Rioja Alavesa, Rias Baixas and Ribera del Duero. All of them share a drive to seek the maximum quality. La Rioja Alta, S.A. seduces with its timeless wines while Torre de Oña, Lagar de Cervera and Áster captivate with the modern personality of their privileged terroir wines.Gran Reserva 890

The winery’s most exclusive wine. Unique, made only in exceptional vintages, it is the essence of the great classic wines of Rioja. The result of a meticulous selection of our best grapes and a very slow ageing process. The wine for the most special moments.

How it came to be: It was the first wine of La Rioja Alta, S.A. and was initially called Reserva 1890 in commemoration of the year of their foundation. Subsequently, just like the Reserva 1904, it lost the first number for legal reasons, lest the brand be confused with the vintage.

A great exemplar of Rioja Gran Reservas to which they also allocate the best harvests from their oldest and wisest vineyards. It shares with the Gran Reserva 890 the elegance, complexity and sophistication of the world’s great wines.

How it came to be: One of our founders, Don Alfredo Ardanza, proposed in 1904 the merger between La Rioja Alta and his winery Bodega Ardanza. To commemorate this key decision and coinciding with one of the best harvests in Haro, the Reserva 1904 was made. Just like the Reserva 1890, it eventually lost the initial.

A wine with a singular and unique character, which renews with every vintage the renowned —and almost extinct— style that is typical of the wines made in the Haro (Rioja Alta) area. Today, Viña Arana continues to dazzle the world with its elegance, silkiness and mild acidity.

How it came to be: The Viña Arana brand was presented to replace a classic wine, the 6º Año. It takes the name of the then Vice-president Don José María de Arana y Aizpurua y and it is the archetype of the wine that the Bordelais, who worked in the local wineries called ‘Rioja Claret’.

It is capable of capable the elegance of the great Riojas with freshness and youth. The winery’s only single varietal wine is a guaranteed success, thanks to its extensive food-pairing versatility. It is joy turned into wine.

How it came to be: In 1978, the Viña Alberdi brand was born to replace the old Tercer Año. It owes its name to Don Nicolás Alberdi, the winery’s President from 1947 to 1952. The first vintage to be put on the market was the 1974.

If you ask for the name of a Rioja brand and many will answer: Viña Ardanza. A label that, in itself, stands as synonymous of a superb wine. With a great personality, it remains mythical from one great vintage to the next.

How it came to be: Although the wine had been on the market for some years, it was not until 28 September 1942 that the firm, then chaired by Leandro Ardanza Angulo, registered the Viña Ardanza brand. It takes the name of one of the founding families that today is still closely attached to the winery.

The white that comes from the Atlantic – Lagar de Cervera.
The groups’s Galician winery is situated on the coast of the Atlantic, nestled in a striking landscape, maintaining an ongoing conversation between land, water and sky. Their vineyard, the largest in Rías Baixas, grants each harvest one of the best white grapes in the world, Albariño. “When nature speaks, we must listen.” Each vintage in this area is a dream come true. Choice freshness and complexity, by extracting the aromas and fruit flavours so characteristic of this variety by manual collection and careful elaboration. Their wines are thier great ambassadors. Made only on vintages that respect the personality of each brand, they are the result of unceasing work that begins at the vineyard and that only ends when you uncork and enjoy a bottle. Rioja icons that show a perfect marriage between tradition and modernity and stand out for their harmony, balance and sophistication. Congratulations! Throughout the past and looking into the future, your wines will always remain the biggest icons of Rioja and some of the best in the world. A toast, for the next 125 vintages of pure Rioja Magic!

At the heart of Ribera del Duero… Aster
La Rioja Alta S.A. sought the perfect place to make a great wine in Ribera del Duero. In Anguix, they found the right location to plant almost 80 hectares of Tinta del País and build an elegant winery, fitted with state-of-the-art technology to make wines with that special personality that can only be found in great terroir wines. Aster wines mainly convey emotion. Faithful, sincere and wise mirrors of an exclusive vineyard. Consistent, elegant, well-armed and with a brilliant fruit. Typicity and full minerality in Finca El Otero, the first wine of the House from a particular plot. Emotion and refinement in the Crianza.

The winery was founded by the end of 19th century, in 1890. The first wine was then created – Reserva 1890 (predecessor of today’s Gran Reserva 890) – by a Frenchman, the winery’s first winemaker. In 1904, Don Alfredo Ardanza, founder of La Rioja Alta and owner of the Ardanza winery, proposed a merger of the two companies. To commemorate the event, the Reserva 1904, predecessor of the Gran Reserva 904, was created. In the following years, the winery was continuously expanding, making its current wines even better and establishing new brands, such as the most famous Vina Ardanza Reserva

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