La Rioja Alta

La Rioja Alta S.A. is an international example when it comes to great wines from Rioja. There are few wineries that can so stylishly intertwine the classic with modernity. The grapes, the terroir and the use of wood; you can immediately taste that the art of winemaking here is supported by more than 125 years of knowledge and experience.

Prestige since 1890
The ‘Sociedad de Vinícola de La Rioja Alta’ was founded in 1890 by five passionate families from La Rioja and the Basque Country. The director at the time was a woman with the beautiful name Doña Saturnina García Cid y Gárate. The first winemaker was Albert Vigier, indeed, a Frenchman. La Rioja Alta’s debut was the Reserva 1890, the predecessor of the current Gran Reserva 890. This prestigious winery is still located in exactly the same location; in the historic station district of Haro.

Traditional wood use
La Rioja Alta S.A. owns 400 hectares, located in the best terroirs of Rioja. Here mainly Tempranillo grows, but also Graciano, Garnacha and Mazuelo. In order to guarantee quality, production is limited to a maximum of 5,000 kilos per hectare. In the historic Bodega it soon becomes clear that oak is central to the maturation of the wines. The (now around 30,000) barrels of La Rioja Alta are all made in-house according to traditional methods. The wood is imported from America and then dried in the open air for two years. Every six months the barrels are transferred by candlelight, an art that improves the development of the wine by removing sediment in a natural way. After the wood maturation, the maturation in the bottle begins; in this last phase the quality of the wine reaches its full potential.

Classic and progressive
In the cellars of La Rioja Alta S.A. hangs the classic atmosphere of tradition, but this winery is not stuck in the past. The knowledge of the past is combined with techniques and insights of today, which has allowed the wines to make an extra quality leap in recent decades. A progressive philosophy that will also ensure La Rioja Alta an absolute top position in the future.

Very exceptional
La Rioja Alta S.A. is praised to the skies both nationally and internationally. The wines score high points every year from renowned wine critics such as Robert Parker and José Peñin. The last vintages of the Gran Reserva 890 and the Gran Reserva 904 achieved exceptionally high scores, thus joining the selective club of wines with the title ‘very exceptional’.