La Rioja Alta Viña Alberdi Rioja Reserva 2020
A fresh Reserva showing red fruit layered with hints of vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Supple and smooth with a touch of balsamic on the long, elegant finish.
Named after one of the founding families, Viña Alberdi is made up of 100% Tempranillo. The grapes are grown in the Mayorita, El Bardal and El Rebollar vineyards in Rodezno, and Alto del Rey in Labastida. These sites are located at an elevation of 500 to 600 metres above sea level and the vines were planted over 40 years ago, on clay-limestone soils. La Rioja Alta is committed to respecting and protecting the environment. In the vineyard, treatments are limited, investments have been made into clean energy sources and water is reused. Insect shelters have been installed in vineyards, promoting environmentally-friendly plant health defence while increasing the biodiversity in the vineyard. The grapes are hand-harvested at optimal ripeness.
After destemming and crushing, the grapes were placed in tanks where alcoholic fermentation and malolactic conversion took place naturally with wild yeasts. The wine was aged for two years in American oak barrels, of which 100% were new during the first year and 4-year old barrels in the second year. Four rackings were carried out in the traditional manner by candlelight.
| RRP | £26.50 |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Alcoholic strength | 14% |
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Rioja |
| Subregion | Rioja Alta |
| Grapes | Tempranillo 100% |
| Residual sugar (g/l) | 1.5 |
| Body | C |
| Contains sulphites | Yes |
| Vegetarian | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Milk | No |
| Eggs | No |
| Organic | No |
| Biodynamic | No |
| Closure | Cork |
Combining tradition and state-of-the-art technology, La Rioja Alta, S.A. is an iconic, world-class producer of classically-styled Reserva and Gran Reserva wines which undergo considerable cask-ageing in order to achieve La Rioja Alta S.A.'s renowned style. La Rioja Alta, S.A. was founded in 1890, in the old railway quarter of Haro, by five families including the Aranas, the Ardanzas and the Alberdis - their names are now celebrated on each of the Reserva wines. The company gradually expanded, and in 1996 a new purpose-built winery in Labastida was completed, focussing on improving quality and enabling the purest expressions of fruit to be showcased in the wines. Oak is at the heart of the ageing process, and La Rioja Alta, S.A. boasts its own in-house coopers who use artisanal methods to produce their own barrels from wood imported from the US and air-dried on site in Haro. Traditional manual racking takes place by candlelight every six months, and the vines are sustainably farmed. Their award-winning wines consistently receive accolades world-wide and in 2022, La Rioja Alta, S.A. was declared the ‘World’s Fourth Most Admired Wine Brand’ by Drinks International.
