100% Tempranillo from our Mayorita, Rebollar, and Bardal vineyards, as well as selected plots in El Palo, Rodezno and Alto del Rey, and Labastida. These vineyards are located at an altitude of 500-600 metres (1600-2000 ft) above sea level, planted in chalky-clay soils more than 40 years ago. After carefully selecting the grapes to be harvested, we placed the clusters in boxes that we immediately transported to the winery in refrigerated vehicles at a temperature of 14°C (57°F). The Bordeaux model was applied, destemming, crushing and vatting the grapes in tanks, where they underwent alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. The wine was aged for two years in American oak barrels manufactured in-house; the first year in new oak and the second in barrels averaging three years in age. The wine was manually racked four times by the light of a candle. Bottled in June 2017.
Info
Producer:
Vintage:
2020
Country:
Spain
Region:
La Rioja
Appellation:
Rioja
Variety:
Tempranillo
Color:
Red
Farming Practice:
Practicing Organic
Sizes Available
| Full Bottle | ES-LRA-01-20 | 12/750ml |
| Half Bottle | ES-LRA-01-20H | 12/375ml |
| Magnum | ES-LRA-01-20M | 6/1500ml |
Press & Reviews
James Suckling
Score
93
Date
2024-08-15
"A classical, typical Rioja Alta red with elegant notes of vanilla, coconut, smoked spices and strawberries. Refined and suave, with fine tannins and a long, creamy finish. Juicy and elegant. Really approachable now, but give it two more years to get more mushroom complexity."
Tim Atkin, MW
Score
92
Date
2025-02-27
"Sold as Crianza in Spain but a Reserva elsewhere, this is a quintessential traditional style Tempranillo from Julio S enz and La Rioja Alta, with two years' ageing in 50% new American oak, pomegranate, dill, tobacco leaf and desiccated coconut flavours, racy acidity and sculpted tannins. Very drinkable. 2025-2032"
Wine Advocate
Score
92
Date
2024-02-29
"The younger wine here is the 2020 Vi¤a Alberdi, a versatile version of the Haro reds. It was produced with Tempranillo fermented in stainless steel and matured in American oak barrels for two years (it's sold as Reserva in international markets and Crianza in Spain). It has 14% alcohol with a pH of 3.6 and five grams of acidity. It has a classical nose of ripe fruit, American oak and spices, the subtle notes of forest floor, still young. The palate is velvety and very balanced with polished tannins. Approachable but should also age. 650,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2023."
Wine Spectator
Score
91
Date
2025-02-13
"Hints of tobacco, smoke and vanilla are a fragrant thread winding through the baked cherry and raspberry fruit, cocoa powder and red licorice notes on display in this lively, harmonious, focused red. Fine, crisp tannins firm the finish. Drink now through 2030. 650,000 cases made, 15,000 cases imported."A.N."
Vinous
Score
90
Date
2025-05-22
"The 2020 Reserva Vina Alberdi is 100% Tempranillo sourced from various sites in Rioja Alta. Aged first in new American oak and then in used barrels, it offers ripe red fruit, a hint of jam and balsamic notes, with vanilla-laced oak in the background. Agile on the palate, with gentle grip and a soft, silky texture, this closes with lingering fruit and a subtle oak imprint. The 2020 is a warm-vintage classic."
Jancis Robinson
Score
16
Date
2026-03-11
"Tasted blind. Aromas of coffee and chocolate, with a lactic note over stewed plum. Very soft, rounded tannins, with sweet-textured fruit on the palate. Distinctly lactic finish with vanilla notes. Drinking well now. A classic style that consistently shows maturity and complexity, and good value at under ,20 retail in Spain. GV (FC)"
REVIEWS FROM PAST VINTAGES
2021
Wine Advocate
Score
94
Date
2026-03-12
"The 2021 Viña Alberdi Selección Especial is only the second vintage to receive the mention"
2021
Vinous
Score
92
Date
2026-04-07
"The 2021 Reserva Viña Alberdi Selección Especial (100% Tempranillo; Rioja Alta & Alavesa) marks only the second Selección Especial since 2001. On the nose, bitter orange, petit four and dried red fruit lead, wrapped in polished oak. Dry, lightly enveloping and structured, the palate brings tobacco and black fruit notes. Its vintage quality shows clearly, lending energy and length to a very classical Rioja."
2021
Wine Spectator
Score
91
Date
2026-04-08
"A harmonious red, round and creamy, with a pure beam of ripe black cherry fruit married to supple tannins and accents of graphite, spice box and dark chocolate. Savory hints of loamy earth and dried thyme push through on the lightly chewy finish. Drink now through 2036."A.N."
2019
James Suckling
Score
92
Date
2023-09-13
"Attractive aromas of sweet spices, smoke and seaweed. Some roasted nuts. Hints of Iberico ham. Medium-bodied with a nice rounded character to the tannins and juicy fruit. Pure tempranillo. Drink now."
2019
John Gilman
Score
92
Date
2024-05-14
"The 2019 Rioja œViña Alberdi” Reserva from La Rioja Alta is made entirely from tempranillo, with the vines at least forty years of age. The wine is aged entirely in small American oak barrels for two years, with the first year in new wood and the second in œthree wine” barrels. The wine is excellent on both the nose and palate, with the bouquet offering up a complex blend of red and black raspberries, woodsmoke, a touch of spiced meats, chalky soil tones, cloves, nutmeg, a touch of nutskin and a nice mix of smoky and toasted coconutty oak scents. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and complex, with superb depth of fruit, lovely soil inflection and grip, moderate, buried tannins and fine balance on the long, complex and classy finish. This is already very tasty, but it has plenty of well-integrated tannins still on the finish and 74 tucking it away in the cellar for four or five years will result in a more velvety and complex wine. Fine juice. 2024-2055+. 9"
2019
Tim Atkin, MW
Score
92
Date
2024-09-29
2019
Vinous
Score
91
Date
2024-04-18
"The 2019 Reserva Viña Alberdi is 100% Tempranillo, sourced from Labastida, Rioja Alavesa and aged for two years in American oak barrels. Garnet in color, the bouquet features vanilla and ripe plum notes along with hints of balsamic and caramel. Dry and juicy on the palate, the polished tannins and silky flow lead to a fairly nimble finish"a delicate Rioja red."
2019
Wine Spectator
Score
91
Date
2024-01-03
"Offers hints of toast, smoke and spices that lace flavors of soft cherry and plum fruit, mandarin orange peel and dried flowers and herbs. A well-knit, medium-bodied red framed by lightly chewy tannins. Drink now through 2029. "A.N."
2019
Jancis Robinson
Score
16.5+
Date
2024-04-26
"Lifted and expressive blue fruit layered with vanilla and coconut from the oak. The tannins are very fine-grained, almost dusty, and very well integrated. Toasty finish. (FG)"
James Suckling
Score
93
Date
2020-11-02
"Aromas of subtle red fruit with plums, spice and cedar. Some dried flowers and dried spices, such as paprika. It,s medium-bodied with some pretty, ripe fruit in the center palate, fine tannins and a citrus and cedar undertone to the finish. Drink or hold."
Vinous
Score
92
Date
2021-04-26
John Gilman
Score
92+
Date
2023-07-10
Wine Advocate
Score
92
Date
2022-07-18
"Their young and fresh red 2018 Vi¤a Alberdi, already a Reserva (Crianza in Spain), matured in oak barrel for two years‡in new barrels for the first year and in used barrels for the second year. During the šlevage, they racked the wine manually from barrel to barrel four times. 2018 was a year of lower alcohol and more freshness in the wines, and they thought the wines were not designed for the long haul; so, they didn't produce any other wine, and so the only wine from 2018 IS VI¥A ALBERDI! Which means that all the Tempranillo grapes that were destined for 890, 904 and all the other wines went to this wine. They didn't use the Garnacha (which was sold in bulk). So, this is a super- Vi¤a Alberdi, which shows more Crianza style in this cooler vintage but with very good depth and complexity, perhaps a more modern and fresher style. The wine has a seamless palate and a juicy texture, with more color than other vintages, more intensity, more fruit... It has grapes from very good vineyards and poor soils that were never destined for this wine. Highly recommendable and very versatile. It has potential to age. They produced a whopping one million bottles of it. It was bottled in March 2021."
James Suckling
Score
92
Date
2023-09-13
"Attractive aromas of sweet spices, smoke and seaweed. Some roasted nuts. Hints of Iberico ham. Medium-bodied with a nice rounded character to the tannins and juicy fruit. Pure tempranillo. Drink now."
John Gilman
Score
92
Date
2024-05-14
"The 2019 Rioja œViña Alberdi” Reserva from La Rioja Alta is made entirely from tempranillo, with the vines at least forty years of age. The wine is aged entirely in small American oak barrels for two years, with the first year in new wood and the second in œthree wine” barrels. The wine is excellent on both the nose and palate, with the bouquet offering up a complex blend of red and black raspberries, woodsmoke, a touch of spiced meats, chalky soil tones, cloves, nutmeg, a touch of nutskin and a nice mix of smoky and toasted coconutty oak scents. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and complex, with superb depth of fruit, lovely soil inflection and grip, moderate, buried tannins and fine balance on the long, complex and classy finish. This is already very tasty, but it has plenty of well-integrated tannins still on the finish and 74 tucking it away in the cellar for four or five years will result in a more velvety and complex wine. Fine juice. 2024-2055+. 9"
Tim Atkin, MW
Score
92
Date
2024-09-29
Wine Advocate
Score
91
Date
2020-10-30
"The classic Haro-styled red 2015 Vi¤a Alberdi, sold abroad with the mention of Reserva and in Spain as Crianza, is a good introduction to the house style: balsamic reds with abundant notes of sweet spices and cigar ash, developed aromas of forest floor and a creamy twist making small concessions for a fresher and cleaner profile in the last few years but keeping the classic style. There are notes of ground tobacco and earth, and the palate is seamless and sleek, with polished tannins and a soft mouthfeel. There are 550,000 bottles of this wine, all produced from a single master blend. It was bottled in September 2018 after two years in American oak barrels."
Vinous
Score
91
Date
2024-04-18
"The 2019 Reserva Viña Alberdi is 100% Tempranillo, sourced from Labastida, Rioja Alavesa and aged for two years in American oak barrels. Garnet in color, the bouquet features vanilla and ripe plum notes along with hints of balsamic and caramel. Dry and juicy on the palate, the polished tannins and silky flow lead to a fairly nimble finish"a delicate Rioja red."
Wine Spectator
Score
91
Date
2024-01-03
"Offers hints of toast, smoke and spices that lace flavors of soft cherry and plum fruit, mandarin orange peel and dried flowers and herbs. A well-knit, medium-bodied red framed by lightly chewy tannins. Drink now through 2029. "A.N."
Jancis Robinson
Score
16.5+
Date
2024-04-26
"Lifted and expressive blue fruit layered with vanilla and coconut from the oak. The tannins are very fine-grained, almost dusty, and very well integrated. Toasty finish. (FG)"