24-12-2014, 05:28 PM
La Rioja Alta, S.A.
1. At heart of the "Barrio de la Estación"
La Rioja Alta is among the most famous wineries in Rioja, a bodega that shares its name with one of the area's three sub-regions and is often regarded, more or less correctly, as making barrel-aged reds that define the traditional oak-aged style. Appropriately, it is based in Haro's historic Barrio de la Estación (Station Quarter), opposite López de Heredia and just up the road from CVNE and Muga, all of whom make "classical" Riojas, too.
2. Radical pioneers
The winery has occupied the same HQ for 124 years. It was founded on July 10, 1890, a date that is commemorated on the label of 890, the bodega's most celebrated Gran Reserva. There were initially five investors, who provided land, vineyards and money for the fledgling Sociedad Vinícola de la Rioja Alta. One of them, Daniel Alfredo Ardanza y Sánchez, merged his own Ardanza winery with the new company in 1904, and this is remembered on the Gran Reserva 904.
Ardanza, together with La Rioja Alta's other owners – Dionisio del Prado y Lablanca, Felipe Puig de la Bellacasa y Herrán, Mariano Lacorte Tapia and Saturnina García Cid y Gárate – were ambitious. They appointed a French enologist, Albert Vigier, as their cellar master and imported 3500 barrels from Bordeaux within three months. (The French link is still alive today, as Pascal Chatonnet is the consultant enologist.) In what was regarded as an even more progressive move at the time, they elected Doña Saturnina as the company's first president. She sounds like a canny businesswoman. The initial capital of the company was 112,500 pesetas, but only 20 percent was ever used.
3. Family values … and labels
The descendants of the founders are still important shareholders to this day. The current chairman, Guillermo de Aranzabal, is the fifth generation of his family to work in the business. There's a further link with the past: three of the company's wines – Alberdi, Arana and Ardanza – are named after members of the founding families.
4. Four wineries in one
La Rioja Alta SA, as it has been known since 1941, owns four wineries: two in Rioja (La Rioja Alta itself and, since 1995, Torre de Oña in the Rioja Alavesa sub-region) and one each in Rías Baixas (Lagar de Cervera since 1988) and Ribera del Duero (Áster, which was created in 1987, but didn't release its first vintage until 2000). All together, the group makes around 2.25 million bottles annually, the overwhelming majority of which is sold under the La Rioja Alta brand (1.4m). There are an additional 450,000 bottles of Lagar de Cervera, 230,000 of Torre de Oña (and its sister brand, Finca San Martín) and 170,000 of Áster.
5. A change of tack
Like many large wineries in the region, La Rioja Alta traditionally purchased grapes from growers rather than owning vineyards. In the 1970s, it began to change tack, acquiring old parcels and planting new ones of its own in the Rioja Alta, Alavesa and Baja. The group now owns 554 hectares (1369 acres), 392 hectares of which are in Rioja. The most significant vineyards are Finca La Cuesta in Cenicero, La Pedriza in Tudelilla and Finca Las Cuevas in Rodenzo, the grapes from which are all fermented separately.
As recently as the 1980s, La Rioja Alta used to buy in 70 percent of its needs, according to vineyard manager, Roberto Frías, but this figure has dropped to 10 percent today and will fall further. "We buy some Graciano and Mazuelo, but that's about it," he adds. "It's still cheaper to buy grapes than grow them, but we prefer the control it gives us."
6. Blending is (mostly) best
La Rioja Alta's winemaker, Julio Sáenz, believes in blends: blends of parcels, blends of sub-regions and, especially blends of grapes. Tempranillo is used for Finca San Martín and, since 2008, for the entry-point Rioja, Viña Alberdi; but everything else is a blend. Viña Ardanza combines 80 percent Tempranillo and 20 percent Garnacha, Viña Arana and Torre de Oña both have 95 percent Tempranillo with 5 percent Mazuelo. The Gran Reserva 904 has 90 percent Tempranillo and 10 percent Mazuelo, while its older sibling, 890, is made from Tempranillo with 3 percent each of Mazuelo and Graciano. The Ribera del Duero and Rías Baixas wines are mono-varietals (of Tempranillo and Albariño respectively).
7. A modern classic?
It's interesting that, while La Rioja Alta is often described as a traditionalist, only one of its wines – Viña Ardanza – contains Garnacha from the Rioja Baja, often seen as a key feature of the "classical style". Julio Sáenz says that the wine has evolved in recent vintages, too, becoming "a little more modern since 2001". This is true of the winery as a whole. It moved into a new cellar in Labastida in 1996, abandoning fermentation in wooden uprights in favor of stainless steel.
There are two respects in which La Rioja Alta remains staunchly traditional, however. First, it only uses American oak (with the exception of the wines from Ribera and from the Torre de Oña Rioja estate). It makes its own barrels, importing the wood from Ohio and Kentucky and seasoning the staves in Rioja. The average age of the barrels is between four and five years, with 20 percent new each year. Secondly, it releases its wines comparatively late, after aging both in barrel and in bottle, when they are ready to drink. The current vintage of Gran Reserva 890, the bodega's flagship wine, is 2001, prompting a wry comment from Guillermo de Aranzabal: "It's very expensive to be traditional."
8. The estate concept
Torre de Oña is an exception among La Rioja Alta's Rioja portfolio, as its grapes come from one site. This single estate in the Rioja Alavesa was created by Jaime Rodriguez, owner of Remelluri, as a joint venture with a Cuban businessman, but was sold to La Rioja Alta in 1995. The property originally had two hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon, but that was pulled out immediately. Today, the 44.25 hectares (109 acres) in production are dominated by Tempranillo, with five hectares of Mazuelo.
In a departure from its normal practices, La Rioja Alta uses 40-75 percent French and 25 percent Caucasian oak here to complement its American barrels. The style of the two wines – Torre de Oña and Finca San Martín – is more international than La Rioja Alta's other Riojas, although both are elegant, rather than overpowering and have changed considerably since 1995. From 2009, Torre de Oña Reserva has seen no American oak at all. From 2012 onwards, there will also be a third wine, sourced from a single parcel called Finca Martelo, and released as a 2500-bottle super cuvée.
Bron,
http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2014/11/1...rioja-alta
Consider the ratings Robert Parker gives to other Gran Reserva 904’s:
1964 – 97 Points
1976 – 95 Points
1977 – 95 Points
1978 – 94 Points
1981 – 93 Points
1983 – 90 Points
1985 – 90 Points
1987 – 89 Points
1989 – 90 Points
1990 – 90 Points
1992 – 90 Points
1994 – 89 Points
1995 – 89 Points
1997 – 94 Points
1998 – 95 Points
2001 – 96 Points
2004 – 96 Points
The Point is This:
While the 904 might have rated reasonably well from the early 1980’s through 1995, the past 17 years have been stellar, a true resurgence. In fact, the latest 2001 and 2004 releases of La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 are among their best ever – even rivaling the legendary 1964. Greatness is back!
Bron, http://thespanishred.com/la-rioja-alta-g...ts-itself/
La Rioja Alta, 904 Gran Reserva 2001 Rioja 17.5 Drink 2011-2018
Mid shaded ruby. Aromas of extended oak ageing shade into butterscotch with strong meaty and treacly elements. But overall it is really transparent and has great lift. Lovely
for current drinking. Not surprisingly, not quite as concentrated as the 2004. 12.5% (Bron Jancis Robinson)
Momenteel een Gran Reserva 904 van 2001 in het glas .... voor Spaanse wijn komt dit wat waterachtig over .... geur en smaak heel matig .... een allemansvriend zonder te schitteren ..... maar als elegantie op één staat in je beoordeling dan is dit top. 92p
Grts.
1. At heart of the "Barrio de la Estación"
La Rioja Alta is among the most famous wineries in Rioja, a bodega that shares its name with one of the area's three sub-regions and is often regarded, more or less correctly, as making barrel-aged reds that define the traditional oak-aged style. Appropriately, it is based in Haro's historic Barrio de la Estación (Station Quarter), opposite López de Heredia and just up the road from CVNE and Muga, all of whom make "classical" Riojas, too.
2. Radical pioneers
The winery has occupied the same HQ for 124 years. It was founded on July 10, 1890, a date that is commemorated on the label of 890, the bodega's most celebrated Gran Reserva. There were initially five investors, who provided land, vineyards and money for the fledgling Sociedad Vinícola de la Rioja Alta. One of them, Daniel Alfredo Ardanza y Sánchez, merged his own Ardanza winery with the new company in 1904, and this is remembered on the Gran Reserva 904.
Ardanza, together with La Rioja Alta's other owners – Dionisio del Prado y Lablanca, Felipe Puig de la Bellacasa y Herrán, Mariano Lacorte Tapia and Saturnina García Cid y Gárate – were ambitious. They appointed a French enologist, Albert Vigier, as their cellar master and imported 3500 barrels from Bordeaux within three months. (The French link is still alive today, as Pascal Chatonnet is the consultant enologist.) In what was regarded as an even more progressive move at the time, they elected Doña Saturnina as the company's first president. She sounds like a canny businesswoman. The initial capital of the company was 112,500 pesetas, but only 20 percent was ever used.
3. Family values … and labels
The descendants of the founders are still important shareholders to this day. The current chairman, Guillermo de Aranzabal, is the fifth generation of his family to work in the business. There's a further link with the past: three of the company's wines – Alberdi, Arana and Ardanza – are named after members of the founding families.
4. Four wineries in one
La Rioja Alta SA, as it has been known since 1941, owns four wineries: two in Rioja (La Rioja Alta itself and, since 1995, Torre de Oña in the Rioja Alavesa sub-region) and one each in Rías Baixas (Lagar de Cervera since 1988) and Ribera del Duero (Áster, which was created in 1987, but didn't release its first vintage until 2000). All together, the group makes around 2.25 million bottles annually, the overwhelming majority of which is sold under the La Rioja Alta brand (1.4m). There are an additional 450,000 bottles of Lagar de Cervera, 230,000 of Torre de Oña (and its sister brand, Finca San Martín) and 170,000 of Áster.
5. A change of tack
Like many large wineries in the region, La Rioja Alta traditionally purchased grapes from growers rather than owning vineyards. In the 1970s, it began to change tack, acquiring old parcels and planting new ones of its own in the Rioja Alta, Alavesa and Baja. The group now owns 554 hectares (1369 acres), 392 hectares of which are in Rioja. The most significant vineyards are Finca La Cuesta in Cenicero, La Pedriza in Tudelilla and Finca Las Cuevas in Rodenzo, the grapes from which are all fermented separately.
As recently as the 1980s, La Rioja Alta used to buy in 70 percent of its needs, according to vineyard manager, Roberto Frías, but this figure has dropped to 10 percent today and will fall further. "We buy some Graciano and Mazuelo, but that's about it," he adds. "It's still cheaper to buy grapes than grow them, but we prefer the control it gives us."
6. Blending is (mostly) best
La Rioja Alta's winemaker, Julio Sáenz, believes in blends: blends of parcels, blends of sub-regions and, especially blends of grapes. Tempranillo is used for Finca San Martín and, since 2008, for the entry-point Rioja, Viña Alberdi; but everything else is a blend. Viña Ardanza combines 80 percent Tempranillo and 20 percent Garnacha, Viña Arana and Torre de Oña both have 95 percent Tempranillo with 5 percent Mazuelo. The Gran Reserva 904 has 90 percent Tempranillo and 10 percent Mazuelo, while its older sibling, 890, is made from Tempranillo with 3 percent each of Mazuelo and Graciano. The Ribera del Duero and Rías Baixas wines are mono-varietals (of Tempranillo and Albariño respectively).
7. A modern classic?
It's interesting that, while La Rioja Alta is often described as a traditionalist, only one of its wines – Viña Ardanza – contains Garnacha from the Rioja Baja, often seen as a key feature of the "classical style". Julio Sáenz says that the wine has evolved in recent vintages, too, becoming "a little more modern since 2001". This is true of the winery as a whole. It moved into a new cellar in Labastida in 1996, abandoning fermentation in wooden uprights in favor of stainless steel.
There are two respects in which La Rioja Alta remains staunchly traditional, however. First, it only uses American oak (with the exception of the wines from Ribera and from the Torre de Oña Rioja estate). It makes its own barrels, importing the wood from Ohio and Kentucky and seasoning the staves in Rioja. The average age of the barrels is between four and five years, with 20 percent new each year. Secondly, it releases its wines comparatively late, after aging both in barrel and in bottle, when they are ready to drink. The current vintage of Gran Reserva 890, the bodega's flagship wine, is 2001, prompting a wry comment from Guillermo de Aranzabal: "It's very expensive to be traditional."
8. The estate concept
Torre de Oña is an exception among La Rioja Alta's Rioja portfolio, as its grapes come from one site. This single estate in the Rioja Alavesa was created by Jaime Rodriguez, owner of Remelluri, as a joint venture with a Cuban businessman, but was sold to La Rioja Alta in 1995. The property originally had two hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon, but that was pulled out immediately. Today, the 44.25 hectares (109 acres) in production are dominated by Tempranillo, with five hectares of Mazuelo.
In a departure from its normal practices, La Rioja Alta uses 40-75 percent French and 25 percent Caucasian oak here to complement its American barrels. The style of the two wines – Torre de Oña and Finca San Martín – is more international than La Rioja Alta's other Riojas, although both are elegant, rather than overpowering and have changed considerably since 1995. From 2009, Torre de Oña Reserva has seen no American oak at all. From 2012 onwards, there will also be a third wine, sourced from a single parcel called Finca Martelo, and released as a 2500-bottle super cuvée.
Bron,
http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2014/11/1...rioja-alta
Consider the ratings Robert Parker gives to other Gran Reserva 904’s:
1964 – 97 Points
1976 – 95 Points
1977 – 95 Points
1978 – 94 Points
1981 – 93 Points
1983 – 90 Points
1985 – 90 Points
1987 – 89 Points
1989 – 90 Points
1990 – 90 Points
1992 – 90 Points
1994 – 89 Points
1995 – 89 Points
1997 – 94 Points
1998 – 95 Points
2001 – 96 Points
2004 – 96 Points
The Point is This:
While the 904 might have rated reasonably well from the early 1980’s through 1995, the past 17 years have been stellar, a true resurgence. In fact, the latest 2001 and 2004 releases of La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 are among their best ever – even rivaling the legendary 1964. Greatness is back!
Bron, http://thespanishred.com/la-rioja-alta-g...ts-itself/
La Rioja Alta, 904 Gran Reserva 2001 Rioja 17.5 Drink 2011-2018
Mid shaded ruby. Aromas of extended oak ageing shade into butterscotch with strong meaty and treacly elements. But overall it is really transparent and has great lift. Lovely
for current drinking. Not surprisingly, not quite as concentrated as the 2004. 12.5% (Bron Jancis Robinson)
Momenteel een Gran Reserva 904 van 2001 in het glas .... voor Spaanse wijn komt dit wat waterachtig over .... geur en smaak heel matig .... een allemansvriend zonder te schitteren ..... maar als elegantie op één staat in je beoordeling dan is dit top. 92p
Grts.
inderdaad Wil.