La Rioja Alta - Ardanza Reserva 1989
La Rioja Alta, S.A. is located in the region of La Rioja, Spain. The estate was created in 1890 by five Riojanes and Basques families. The original La Rioja Alta winery is based in Haro, but there is a second site in Labastida in the Rioja Alavesawhich was built in 1996. In 1904, the Ardanza winery, owned by Don Alfredo Ardanza, joined La Rioja Alta. To commemorate the event, the Gran Reserva 904 is produced for the first time. Grupo La Rioja Alta also owns the Torre de Oña estate in the Alavesa de la Rioja sub-region, Áster in Ribera del Duero and Lagar de Cervera in the Rias Baixas region in Galicia. The estate consists of around 660 hectares of vineyards around La Rioja. The winery located in Haro includes a cooperage, where the barrels are made from American oak. The racking of each barrel is carried out by candlelight, to remove sediment in a natural way and also to allow the team to monitor each barrel individually.
La Rioja Alta, S.A. is committed to the environment: limited treatments in the vineyards, investment in clean energy, reuse of water, solar farm, and the corks and boxes are also managed in a sustainable manner. Today, 16 hectares are certified in organic viticulture and the aim is to increase the proportion. In addition, the board of directors has launch the Viña Ardanza Solidario programme; 1% of the annuel net profit (and with a minimum of €100.000 per year) is allocated to humanitarian and philanthropic causes.
The Viña Ardanza Reserva 1989 is a blend of Tempranillo (70%), complemented by Garnacha (25%) with the balance of Mazuelo and Graciano. The Tempranillo comes from their own vineyards in Cenicera and Fuenmayor, and the Garnacha from Tudelilla in the Rioja Baja. The first fermentation took place in stainless steel vats. The wine was put in vats for 9 months where the malolactic fermentation took place. It was transferred into barrels in 1990 at the end of the summer/beginning of autumn. During its 42 months in barrels, the wine underwent 7 hand-rackings. It was bottled in April/May 1994.
Grape varieties: 70% Tempranillo, 25% Garnacha, 5% Mazuelo and Graciano
