Viña Albina Gran Reserva 2018
The quintessence of the historic Bodegas Riojanas
Bodegas Riojanas is one of the century-old Rioja firms that have written memorable episodes in the history of Spanish wine. Viña Albina was the first brand to be launched on the market at the end of the nineteenth century. This Viña Albina Gran Reserva 2018 comes from a selection of the best vineyards in the Rioja Alta subzone, vineyards that embody the essence of elegance and harmony and produce wines whose laying-down potential has shaped the legend of the greatness of Rioja. This red won a gold award at The Rioja Masters, a competition organised by the prestigious publication The Drinks Business. It’s undoubtedly one of the most iconic Spanish brands that shouldn’t be missed.
Consumption features
Serving temperature
Consumption time
General features
Type of wine
Region
Grape variety
5% Graciano, 80% Tempranillo, 15% Mazuelo
Type of barrel
100% American oak barrels, second-use and medium-toast
Type of bottle
Bordeaux
Barrel aging time
36 months
Capacity (cl)
75
Bottling
02/2022
Total acidity (g/l)
5.8
Volatile acidity (g/l)
5.8
Sugar
0.8
pH
3.49
Alcohol content (% vol.)
13.28
General Information
Viña Albina Gran Reserva 2018 comes from a vintage that produced red wines notable for their finesse, with intense and vivid colours and a very harmonious palate. It’s a blend of 80% Tempranillo, 15% Mazuelo and 5% Graciano.
The Tempranillo grapes were grown in old vineyards at a high altitude (550-700 m) with an average age of 35 years, located in the most iconic municipalities of Rioja Alta: Cenicero, San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Peciña, Ábalos, Briones, Rodezno and Ventosa. The Mazuelo grapes came from the ‘El Cerrado’ vineyard in Cenicero, which is more than 30 years old and has a clayey-calcareous soil, located at an altitude of 450 metres above sea level. And the Graciano grapes were sourced from ‘El Monte’, another estate in Cenicero, with 25-year-old vines.
On these estates the winery engages in sustainable viticulture with minimal phytosanitary intervention. The grapes are harvested by hand and by plots and processed using traditional methods. The wine was aged for 36 months in medium-toast American oak barrels, followed by at least two years in the bottle before being released.
Bodegas Riojanas is part of a very exclusive and special club: that of the hundred-year-old wineries, in fact, it’s one of the oldest wineries in the country. It was founded in 1890 and Viña Albina was precisely the first brand it launched on the market at the end of the nineteenth century – a label that pays tribute to the wife of one of its founders.
Originally built in Cenicero, in Rioja Alta, the winery has undergone several modernisations throughout its history, eventually constructing another winemaking building in San Vicente de la Sonsierra. These new facilities incorporate the latest advances in production technology.
It’s also one of the few national wineries with the privilege of being listed on the national stock exchange. However, the fifth generation of the Frías-Artacho family, which established the winery, owns the majority of the company.
Viña Albina Gran Reserva 2018 (D.O.Ca. Rioja) is ideal with stewed lentils or chickpea stew.
Creators' opinion
Color rojo rubí con sutiles brillos teja.
En nariz, la carta de presentación son notas frescas y atractivas a cereza ácida, fresa salvaje y frambuesa, que dan paso a la verdadera identidad, personalidad y carácter de Viña Albina, haciéndolo único y diferenciándolo por sus notas florales que aportan los paisajes de los diferentes ‘terroirs’ (hoja de violeta, rosa, lila) para poner como broche final las notas amaderadas (nuez moscada, canela, pimienta rosa).
El paso en boca es potente y seductor, a primera impresión. El intenso sabor y frescura aportados por las cerezas, fresas, frambuesas, se mueven hacia los toques cálidos y profundos que proveen la hoja seca de tabaco, el coco y el chocolate negro.
The winery
Bodegas Riojanas is one of the great centenary wineries of Rioja, founded in 1890 in Cenicero by two families with a winemaking tradition: the Frías and the Artacho families. Today, Bodegas Riojanas continues to be led by the descendants of the founding families, with Santiago Frías at the helm. The five generations that have steered this illustrious winery have consolidated and perpetuated its prestige, based on two historic brands: Viña Albina, a label born at the dawn of the 20th century; and Monte Real, created in the 1930s with grapes from a vineyard in Cenicero by the French winemaker Gabriel Larrendat.
Bodegas Riojanas was one of the wineries that participated in the creation of the Rioja Denomination of Origin in 1925, and from the 1930s onwards, it forged its reputation as a master in the art of aging wines. It has more than 600 hectares of vineyards—both owned and controlled—in the heart of Rioja Alta, between the areas of Cenicero and San Vicente de la Sonsierra, divided into more than 1,600 plots of clay-limestone soils. The tempranillo grape is the main protagonist, although there is also a significant extension of mazuelo and graciano, varieties that are ideal for complementing blends.
Over time, Bodegas Riojanas has diversified its activities, launching new projects in other denominations of origin: Toro (Bodegas Torreduero), Bierzo, Rueda and Ribera del Duero (Bodegas Viore), Rías Baixas (Veiga Naum), Cava (Cum Laude), and Monterrei (Bodegas Gargalo). It also markets the Alacer brand. Bodegas Riojanas is one of the few Spanish wineries listed on the stock exchange.