Reserva “Viña Ardanza” 2010, 2001, 1973, 1964
Gran Reserva “904” 2015
Gran Reserva “890” 2005 & 2001
Legendary wines. Legendary years. All of them worthy of the rarest of all La Rioja Alta S.A.’s internal distinctions, the vaunted ‘Especial’ moniker. And now, for just the second time in the 48-year history of the brand, and the first since 2001, Viña Alberdi rejoins the pantheon, releasing now to the USA market as Reserva ‘Selección Especial’.
This beloved Reserva marries the time-burnished complexity and surprising ageability conferred by two years in American oak with consummate affordability for its bulletproof quality. While La Rioja Alta’s more elevated cuvées may often steal the limelight, Viña Alberdi is a force to be reckoned with in 2021, a vintage in the running for the finest in Rioja since 2010 or even 2001.
The 2021 growing campaign at La Rioja Alta could hardly have been scripted better: a relaxed, long cycle with a particularly fine October of sunny days and cold nights allowed an enviably gradual and precise final ripening. A relaxed and extended harvest delivered grapes of picture-perfect balance between sugars, acids and phenolic maturity that winemaker Julio Sáenz declares the be the ‘natural inheritors’ of the mantle of the mythical 2001. He elaborates that 2021 Alberdi’s ‘outstanding typicity, elegance, evolution and great aging potential place it among the finest Viña Alberdi wines in our history’.
In the glass, the excellent season announces itself with ravishing red and black fruit enveloped, as always, in the spicy caress of house-coopered American oak and the gently autumnal complexity of four manual rackings over the course of its long aging. It’s not for nothing that already upon release, 2021 Alberdi has been a critical hit, with the Wine Advocate’s Luis Gutiérrez raving that “without a doubt, this is the finest Alberdi I can remember”, and Wine Spectator having emphasized its quality-price rapport as a Value Pick of the Week.
La Rioja Alta S.A. counts 135 years of winemaking history, and they’ve awarded the Especial label exactly nine times. Don’t miss the chance to experience a new legend in the making.
Reserva Selección Especial, ‘Viña Alberdi’ 2021
- 100% Tempranillo
- Sourced from the Mayorita, Las Monjas, El Palo and Bardal vineyards in Rodezno, and Alto del Rey in Labastida
- 40+ year-old vines in clay limestone at 500-600 meters altitude
- Hand-harvested with bunch selection in the vineyard and transported under refrigeration to the winery
- Gentle destemming and crushing before optical sorting
- Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in tank
- Aged for two years in house-coopered American oak barrels; the first year in new oak and the second in barrels averaging 4.5 years
- The wine was manually racked four times by the light of a candle. Bottled in June 2024
JS:94 “This shows aromas of red cherries, earthy nuances and mushrooms. Medium- to full-bodied, with great length and a chiseled, evenly distributed palate, displaying a fine balance between fruit, acidity and tannin… Approachable now but with the structure and balance to evolve over time. Drink or hold.”
WA:94 “ It’s very classical and very clean, showing incipient complexity and just a hint of evolution and tertiary notes. It has terrific balance and freshness and pungent, focused and precise flavors. Without a doubt, this is the finest Alberdi I can remember.”
