Sunday, June 11th, 2023
Dear Artisans,

In 2018, ALL of the fruit destined for La Rioja Alta's $200 and $80 Gran Reservas, 890 (Spectator's #4 Top 100 Wine of 2018) and 904, went into their Vina Alberdi Reserva.

At $23-19.97 a bottle, it is unequivocally that bracket's finest red wine on this planet:
Meanwhile, the well is running dry on the next price bracket's most spectacular red on planet Earth:
This is from the same legendary producer of this perennial beloved best buy, you likely may recall —>
"Quite simply, these are some of the finest Riojas that can grace your cellar: complex, refined, classic but without compromising fruit intensity and to reiterate: wines that speak about where they come from." – Neal Martin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The TLDR is La Rioja Alta is one of Spain's the world's greatest and most beloved wineries. For 132 years (since 1890) they've made classically elegant and polished Rioja wines that are always released after many years aging in their cellars. They do all the work, you don’t pay the price. It’s a perfect arrangement.

Regarded by many as the greatest Rioja wines ever, they offer insanely high-quality for prices so low they seem like typos.
 
For those of you not familiar with the finest Rioja wines, the 2015 Vina Ardanza is a great initiation into the classics. The wine spent three years in barrel and then, once bottled, another three years aging in the bodega's cellars. The result is a wine that is drinking extremely well today, almost a decade from the vintage...plus it will continue rounding off its fine bouquet in the bottle over time. 
 
This is a brilliant investment for your cellar but so delicious to drink now and whenever you please. Wines with this much pedigree rarely come at such a gentle price.
 
Cheers,
—James Tran
2018 La Rioja Alta Vina Alberdi Reserva 

93 Points - 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." (Aug 2021)

92 Points - Robert Parker's WA:
"Their young and fresh red 2018 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." - Luis Gutierrez (Jul 2022)

92 Points - Tim Atkin, MW:
"La Rioja Alta didn't make any 904 or 890 Gran Reservas in 2018, so this lesser wine benefited from the decision. It's a fresh, modern, perfumed Tempranillo with subtle American oak spices, supporting acidity and layers of sweet red berry fruit. Forward, bright and easy drinking."

  • Varietal Composition: 100% Tempranillo from 40-year-old vines
  • Alcohol: 13.5%
  • 9,500 cases imported
Elswhere: $27.99 btl
Our Prices:

$23.97 btl (1-5)
$21.97 btl (6-11)
$19.97 btl (12+)
2015 La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva 

96 Points - James Suckling:
"A rich nose of raspberry, crushed strawberry, blueberry, coconut, cedar and sweet spice. It’s medium-to full-bodied with fine tannins and fresh acidity. Creamy, balanced and layered with vibrant, spicy character. Long and polished. 80% tempranillo and 20% garnacha. Drink or hold." (11/22/21)

94 Points - Vinous:
"Deep magenta. An intensely perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black raspberry, cherry cola, potpourri, tobacco and exotic spices, plus a smoky mineral flourish. Sweet and broad in the mouth, offering lush red and blue fruit, spicecake, mocha and coconut flavors that firm up on the back half. Finishes extremely long and spicy, with resonating florality, gently chewy tannins and lingering oak spice notes." -JR (4/21)

94 Points - Tim Atkin, MW:
"One of two vintages of Ardanza that are currently on the market, the 2015 is a cuvée of Tempranillo from Fuenmayor and Cenicero and 20% Garnacha from high altitude Tudelilla in the Rioja Oriental. Savoury and aromatic, with a slight animal note, this has raspberry and wild strawberry fruit, scented oak and sweet baking spices. 2021-2027." (2021)

94 Points - Robert Parker's WA:
"I tasted two vintages of their sleek and polished blend of Tempranillo and Garnacha, the oldest of which is the 2015 Viña Ardanza Reserva. It's a blend of 78% Tempranillo and 22% Garnacha (because they found that they needed a little more volume in the wine) from a powerful, warm and ripe year, very interesting to compare with the 2016. They consider 2015 a very good vintage; they compare it with 2001, a year when they produced all the wines. There are three wines from 2015, and there is something in common in all thee wines. The grapes were picked in mid-October and put through optical sorting to ferment followed by malolactic until the end of the year. The wine matured in used American oak barrels—the Tempranillo for 36 months with six manual rackings and the Garnacha for 30 months with five rackings. I find it to be more tertiary, with hints of leather and cured meat and a little wild, very spicy. It has a powerful palate with plenty of tannin, and it even feels that it needs some more polishing of perhaps powerful food... The final blend was bottled in September 2019. No 2013 or 2014 were produced." - Luis Gutierrez (Jul 2022)

93 Points - Decanter:
"Bright beacon of freshness, layers of dark cherry fruit, with hints of a bright Garnacha. Fine and soft tannin, lots of mocha and cacao. Juicy, lively, with a long finish. A model blend, excellent." (11/21)

  • Varietal Composition: 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha
  • Alcohol: 13.5%
  • 9,500 cases imported
Elswhere: $44.99 btl
Web Avg: $41.00 btl
Our Normal Price: $39.97 btl
THIS WEEK ONLY: $34.97 btl

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