La Rioja Alta Viña Alberdi Reserva 2018

La Rioja Alta Viña Alberdi Reserva 2018

VINEYARD, GRAPES & AGEING
100% Tempranillo from our Mayorita, El Bardal and El Rebollar vineyards in Rodezno, and Alto del Rey in Labastida. These sites lie at 500-600 metres above sea level and the vines were planted on claylimestone soils more than 40 years ago.

The grapes were picked by hand, placed in 300 kg boxes and transported in refrigerated platforms to the winery to preserve their qualities. After destemming and crushing, the grapes were placed in tanks where alcoholic and malolactic fermentation took place naturally. This wine was aged for two years in American oak barrels made by our in-house coopers —new ones in the first year and four-year-old barrels in the second year. We carried out four rackings in the traditional way, from barrel to barrel, separating the sediment that was produced during the ageing process by candlelight. Bottled in March 2021.

Reviews

James Suckling – “A pretty nose of raspberries, cassis, fresh herbs, vanilla and sweet spices. It’s medium-bodied with round tannins. Creamy and fruity with chocolatey character on the mid-palate. Supple finish with excellent length. Tangy acidity. 100% tempranillo. Drink or hold.” (93 Pts)

Wine Advocate – “Their young and fresh red 2018 La Rioja Alta Viña 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 élevage, 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 VIÑA 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- Viña 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.” (92 Pts)