La Rioja Alta 'Vina Ardanza' Rioja Reserva 2019

Ardanza has been made the same way for generations and it is still one of the great value wines in the world. Traditional Rioja, properly aged before it ever reaches you.

Vintage Officially rated as 'Excellent', the 2019 vintage stands out as one of the best harvests in La Rioja Alta's history. Balance and freshness are the defining characteristics of the 2019. The outstanding quality of both Garnacha and Tempranillo has enabled a wine with remarkable complexity and ageing potential to be crafted. "This is the Viña Ardanza that will improve the most over the coming years - a wine to both enjoy and treasure, without a doubt", commented Julio Sáenz, Head Winemaker. Vineyard: The Tempranillo grapes come from the La Cuesta vineyard, in Fuenmayor and the Montecillo vineyard in Cenicero. Both sites are over 30 years-old and their soils are predominantly clay-limestone. The Garnacha grapes come from 'La Pedriza', a 70- hectare vineyard with deep rocky soils at 550 metres elevation in Tudelilla in Rioja Oriental. This vineyard site offers outstanding conditions for growing Garnacha. La Rioja Alta is committed to respecting and protecting the environment. In the vineyard, treatments are limited, investments have been made into clean energy sources and water is reused. Insect shelters have been installed in vineyards, promoting environmentally-friendly plant health defence while increasing the biodiversity in the vineyard. The grapes are hand-harvested at optimal ripeness. Winemaking: Following meticulous sorting on optical selection tables, only the perfectly ripe grapes were fermented, using indigenous yeasts. The carefully selected wines were transferred to barrels and aged separately: 36 months in four-year-old American oak barrels for the Tempranillo, with six manual rackings; and 30 months for the Garnacha, (20% new) with five manual rackings, in barrels of 2 to 3 passages. Bottle-aged for three years. TastingNote: An emblematic Rioja showing exquisite balance, silkiness and opulence. Aromatic notes of spice, liquorice and pepper envelope ripe red fruits with a touch of balsamic on the long, smooth finish. Grape Tempranillo 80%, Garnacha 20%