Universo Grandes Reservas de La Rioja Alta, s.A.
Sobre la bodega
Founded by five families in 1890, La Rioja Alta, S.A. It is located in the emblematic neighborhood of the Haro Station. A winery that is a symbol of Rioja wine and in which tradition and modernity coexist perfectly. The Gran Reserva 890, Gran Reserva 904, Viña Ardanza, Viña Arana and Viña Alberdi wines are made here.
Quality, elegance, innovation, evolution... They are the pillars on which the five founding families erected our winery in 1890 and built a way of living, feeling and producing wines of the highest quality that continue to evolve subtly, perfectly adapting to new tastes.
We are convinced. A great vineyard is the genesis of an excellent wine. Our particular 'treasure' is over 400 hectares of estate-owned vineyards located in the best terroirs of Rioja.
The Tempranillo variety dominates our plantations, where we also have other local varieties, including Graciano, Garnacha and Mazuelo, which are essential to make our brands and provide them with their marked personality.
Getting and controlling the quality of our grapes is only possible with a limited production (under 5,000 kilos per hectare) and exhaustive control technology applied from the start of the growing cycle until harvest. We also apply cutting-edge technology during vinification, affording us great winemaking flexibility depending on grape variety, the terroir and berry characteristics.
In the difficult art of creating great wines, we combine the wisdom of tradition and the state of the art. In addition to the century-old winery in Haro, we have modern facilities located in Labastida where we make wine from our own grapes with the help of the most advanced technology.
Oak is at the core of the ageing process and we therefore manufacture our own barrels —which currently number about 30,000— using completely artisanal methods. With import the wood from the United States and dry it in the open air for two years. Our coopers make every barrel in the cooperage of our hundred-year-old facilities in Haro.
Every six months, we manually rack every barrel under candlelight. It is an art to enhance the development of the wine, removing sediments in a natural way and monitoring each barrel individually.
After a stay in barrels, the wines continue ageing in the bottle, where they polish their personality, rounding off and fully developing all their qualities.