La Rioja Alta winery, Courtesy of La Rioja Alta, S.A.

La Pedriza Vineyard in Rioja Oriental, Courtesy of La Rioja Alta, S.A.

La Rioja Alta barrel room, Courtesy of La Rioja Alta, S.A.

On a high, windswept plateau in Rioja, a venerable Spanish winery, forged by five families over 130 years ago, stands the test of time.  Here, the vines of La Rioja Alta, S.A. produce Tempranillo-based wines that embrace the passage of years, gaining nuance and complexity as they slumber in their oak barrels deep within the earth.  While tradition has shaped these wines for over a century, their motto, “Always evolving”, has charted a course for the future.  Renowned for their traditional style of elegant and savory wines, La Rioja Alta, S.A. has expanded and diversified, offering more modern-style wines, while keeping their core, classic Rioja, as a guardian of the brand.

Today’s La Rioja Alta, S.A. channels their heritage while embracing modern winemaking techniques, making wines with more fruit and structure, but striving for a delicate elegance that echoes the past.  It’s this historical Spanish accent that permeates the transparent ruby color of the wine, hidden in the swirl of aromas and flavors, a whisper of the delicate Tempranillo from the Rioja Alta vineyards atop the plateau, with a bass note of the more powerful Garnacha from the low-lying Rioja Oriental.  Captivating in the same way as some of the best Burgundian wines, ethereal and subtle, it is different in its full orchestral complement of aromas and flavors; fruit, earth, spice, tobacco, cocoa, and oak notes of vanilla and cinnamon.

La Rioja Alta in Rioja Alta, Courtesy of La Rioja Alta, S.A.

Torre de Oña in Rioja Alavesa, Courtesy of La Rioja Alta, S.A.

Lagar de Cervera in Rias Baixas, Courtesy of La Rioja Alta, S.A.

Bodegas Áster in Ribero del Duero, Courtesy of La Rioja Alta, S.A.

While renowned for their iconic Rioja wines, La Rioja Alta, S.A. is branching out.  They own four wineries: the original estate in La Rioja Alta, Torre de Oña in Rioja Alavesa, Lagar de Cervera in Rias Baixas and Áster in Ribero del Duero.  Producing red wines with the common thread of Tempranillo, with the exception of Lagar de Cervera and its Albariño, the art is mostly in the blend, with oak aging a key ingredient in its character and evolution.  An eye to detailed viticulture of all estate-grown fruit and modern winemaking techniques shape the character of the wines.  La Rioja Alta, S.A. continues their traditional approach in some ways, making their own American oak barrels onsite, and aging the wines in both barrel and bottle until they are ready to drink upon release, a luxury many wine producers can’t afford.

Historical photo, Courtesy of La Rioja Alta, S.A.

La Rioja Alta barrel room, Courtesy of La Rioja Alta, S.A.

History provides perspective and crystallizes future ambitions.  Over 130 years ago, La Rioja Alta, S.A. was founded by five Rioja families, who still control the company.  Viña Ardanza is their icon wine, the sun in their expanding galaxy of wine styles and labels, which include the Gran Reserva 890 and 904, Arana Gran Reserva, and entry-level Alberdi.   Homage is paid to three of the original founding families in these Ardanza, Alberdi and Arana wine labels.

Export Area Manager Jose Navarro of La Rioja Alta, S.A.

Recently, La Rioja Alta, S.A. brought these beautiful wines and their entourage labels to Los Angeles for a tasting luncheon at Fanny’s Restaurant and Cafe with members of the wine trade.  Export Manager Jose Navarro shared the company’s goal of establishing one winery in each of the best quality (DO) regions in Spain, along with impressive examples of style and vintage.

Greeted by a glass of the 2020 Lagar de Cervera Albariño, aromas of green apple, citrus, peach and melon jumped out of the glass, followed by vibrant and rounded flavors, accented with a core of salinity.  Very balanced and fresh, a perfect summer wine.

The First Course, a Black Truffle Hummus with Crispy Mushrooms and Parsley, was accompanied by the 2016 Bodegas Áster Crianza.  This is a 100% Tinto del Pais, the local variety of Tempranillo, from Ribera del Duero, made in a modern style where the fruit takes center stage.  Aged in French oak barrels, intense aromas of wild berries and dark fruit play against hints of cedar, licorice, cocoa and spice, resulting in a vibrant wine, with a rich core, delicate acidity and round tannins, unfolding unto a long, balanced finish.

The Second Course, Grilled Salmon with Red Wine Muhammara, Greens and Goat Cheese, served as the backdrop for four vintages of Viña Ardanza, the jewel of La Rioja Alta, S.A., and defined by a consistent style.  Viña Ardanza, a blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha, is opulent and elegant, intense with red fruit and spice, yet intriguing with coffee bean and cigar box notes, structured yet ripe and balanced, with silky tannins and an extraordinarily long finish.  Viña Ardanza is not made every year, but only when the quality is exceptional, which can be seven times within a decade in good vintages.  But the greatest of these wines happen rarely, labeled Especial, they have only been made four times, in 1964, 1973, 2001 and 2010.  The four different vintages served at lunch illustrate the aging potential and evolution of the wine over time.

• The 1994 Viña Ardanza Reserva, considered the “harvest of the century”, is 75% Tempranillo and 25% Garnacha, and displayed the characteristics of an aged wine, not much fruit but intriguing in its secondary and tertiary notes, with good acidity and a long finish.
• The 2001 Viña Ardanza Reserva Especial was an “Especial”, an exceptional wine with intense and complex aromas, a refined wine with silky tannins and a very long finish.
• The 2005 Viña Ardanza Reserva presented blackberry fruit, alongside spice and vanilla notes, lively and well-structured with silky tannins, and a long finish.
• The 2015 Viña Ardanza Reserva is a powerful wine, with rich fruit, spice, and notes of licorice, cocoa, coffee and leather.  Structured, with a mineral note, and supple tannins, this 2015 vintage is elegant and age-worthy.

The Third Course, Chitarra with Ragu All’Abruzzese, Basil and Chili Oil was the canvas for two vintages of the Torre de Oña Finca Martelo Reserva wines.  These wines are all about vineyard expression, unlike Ardanza, which is about a consistent style.  Torre de Oña is a modern-style wine, 95% Tempranillo and a 5% field blend of Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Viura, from three Alavesa vineyards with old vines over 60 years old.  Aged in 80% American and 20% French oak, it has more color, structure and tannin.  The 2014 Finca Martelo Reserva swirled intense red fruit, spice, tobacco and chocolate notes, and higher acidity, while the 2015 Finca Martelo Reserva channeled dark fruit, good acidity and a fresher profile, with silky tannins and a long, well-balanced finish.

The Fourth Course, Short Rib with Sofrito, Crispy Rice and Pickled Cabbage, was the stage for four vintages of La Rioja Alta’s Viña Arana Gran Reserva and Gran Reserva 904 wines.  Viña Arana Gran Reservas are vibrant, with a style of its own, and aging potential, 95% Tempranillo and 5% Graciano.  Aromatic intensity and acidity from Graciano along with elegance and structure from Tempranillo mark these refined wines, the 2014 Viña Arana Gran Reserva so expressive and the 2015 Viña Arana Gran Reserva so elegant.  The Gran Reserva 904s, named for the year 1904 when La Rioja Alta merged with the Ardanza Winery, are the more elegant, delicate wines of the Gran Reservas.  The 2011 Gran Reserva 904 demonstrated an intense fruit nose with underlying spice and notes of cigar box, cedar, and licorice while the 1997 Gran Reserva 904 penetrated the palate with waves of intrigue and umami, spice, and leather, ending long with silky, rich tannins.

Five years ago, La Rioja Alta, S.A.’s President, Guillermo de Aranzábal, came to Los Angeles to celebrate 75 vintages of Viña Ardanza and spoke of adapting for the future.  He described La Rioja Alta, S.A. as “the new classics, the classics of today, we want to take the best of the tradition and the best of the innovation.  From tradition, we take the elegance of the wines; complexity, delicacy, long life.  From the new style wines, we take more color, more freshness, more fruit, more intensity.”  And this seems to be the core of the evolution of Viña Ardanza, and the other wines under the La Rioja Alta, S.A. umbrella.  Wines that gets better every vintage, from the blend of tradition and modern trends, yet still require patience since aging is so important to its evolution.  Seamless and integrated, where no one thing stands out, they are the sum of the aromas, flavors, acidity and structure that has you coming back for more, one that I find particularly intriguing, like a mystery never truly revealed.

La Rioja Alta, S.A. wines, in all their vintages and incarnations, are ravishing beauties, that will mesmerize and captivate you with their heady swirl of aromas, and satisfy with their balance and depth of flavors.  They are a lot of wine for the price, and with the US their number one market for exports, the consumer is the beneficiary, able to enjoy wines ready to consume upon release, ethereal and subtle, but with the promise of greatness with age, a perfect choice for the home wine cellar.