La Rioja Alta, S.A.

La Rioja Alta was founded on 10 July 1890 as Sociedad Vinícola de La Rioja Alta by five Riojan and Basque families pooling vineyards, capital, and infrastructure in Haro's Barrio de la Estación, the railway-station district that had attracted French négociants and Spanish bodegas after the Bilbao to Tudela line reached Haro in the 1860s and gave Rioja efficient export access during the French phylloxera crisis. The founding president was Doña Saturnina García Cid y Gárate, and the first winemaker was the Frenchman Monsieur Vigier, who crafted the Reserva 1890 that later became the Gran Reserva 890. In 1904, co-founder Alfredo Ardanza merged his own Bodegas Ardanza with the company, an event commemorated by the Reserva 1904 that later became the Gran Reserva 904. The company formally adopted the current name La Rioja Alta, S.A. in 1941, and the Viña Ardanza brand was registered on 28 September 1942. Descendants of the founding families continue to form the core of the shareholding and governance today, with leadership currently in the hands of the Aranzabal branch of the family. La Rioja Alta is the reference point for classical Rioja: long aging in American oak, unfiltered bottling, manual racking by candlelight every six months, and release only when wines are judged ready to drink. While much of modern Rioja has shifted toward French oak, shorter aging regimes, single-vineyard labelling, and earlier release windows, La Rioja Alta has held to its classical method while modernising viticulture, sustainability practices, and group reach. Drinks International's panel of Masters of Wine, sommeliers, buyers, and writers ranked the company fourth in the 2022 World's Most Admired Wine Brands list and lifted it to third in 2024 and 2025 before placing it tenth in 2026, making it consistently among the most highly regarded wineries on the global ranking and the most highly regarded Spanish producer across the recent years of the list. Wines such as Viña Ardanza Reserva, Gran Reserva 904, and the only-in-the-best-vintages Gran Reserva 890 anchor the classical Tempranillo-led benchmark on every educator's and sommelier's shortlist.

• Founded 10 July 1890 as Sociedad Vinícola de La Rioja Alta by five Riojan and Basque families in Haro's Barrio de la Estación
• Founding president Doña Saturnina García Cid y Gárate; first winemaker Monsieur Vigier, whose Reserva 1890 became Gran Reserva 890
• 1904 merger with Alfredo Ardanza's bodega gave rise to the Gran Reserva 904; company name became La Rioja Alta, S.A. in 1941
• Viña Ardanza brand registered 28 September 1942; founding families' descendants continue to lead the company today
• Drinks International World's Most Admired Wine Brands: 4th in 2022, 3rd in 2024 and 2025, 10th in 2026
• Classical method maintained while many peers have shifted to French oak, shorter aging, and single-vineyard labelling outside the traditional classification system
• Viña Ardanza Reserva, Gran Reserva 904, and Gran Reserva 890 anchor the classical Tempranillo-led benchmark for educators, sommeliers, and collectors
• Sustainability program includes integrated viticulture across the group's vineyards under technical director Julio Sáenz

La Rioja Alta cultivates a large estate-vineyard base in Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa, with additional holdings through its sister estates in Ribera del Duero (Áster) and Rías Baixas (Lagar de Cervera). Recent communications place the company-owned vineyard at over 587 hectares planted in some of the most exclusive areas of Rioja, with the broader La Rioja Alta Group cultivating significantly more land across all four properties. Tempranillo is the dominant variety, complemented by Graciano, Mazuelo, and Garnacha. Yields are deliberately held well below the Rioja maximum to concentrate quality. Key vineyard sites include Villalba, Briñas, Labastida, Rodezno, Briones, Fuenmayor, and Cenicero, with Garnacha for Viña Ardanza sourced from Tudelilla in Rioja Oriental. The bodega operates a modern winery in Labastida alongside the historic Haro cellars and uses optical grape-selection technology at the harvest sorting tables to ensure only fruit meeting the strictest criteria reaches the cellar.

• Over 587 hectares of estate vineyards in Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa under La Rioja Alta, S.A.; the broader group cultivates more across four properties
• Tempranillo is the primary variety, complemented by Graciano, Mazuelo, and Garnacha; yields held well below the Rioja maximum to concentrate quality
• Key sites include Villalba, Briñas, Labastida, Rodezno, Briones, Fuenmayor, and Cenicero; Garnacha for Viña Ardanza comes from Tudelilla in Rioja Oriental
• Optical grape selection at the sorting tables; modern winery in Labastida alongside the historic Haro cellars

La Rioja Alta's winemaking is anchored by American oak and an in-house cooperage in Haro. The bodega imports American oak, seasons it for around two years in the open air, and crafts all barrels in-house to its own specification, a vertical-integration arrangement that very few European estates maintain today. Manual racking is performed every six months by candlelight across the entire range, from Viña Alberdi up to Gran Reserva 890, with the Gran Reserva 890 receiving ten manual rackings over its six years in barrel. Wines are bottled without filtration. The company holds large reserves of finished wine in bottle and only releases each label when it is judged ready to drink, often years after the initial release schedules used by most modern producers. Julio Sáenz has served as technical director since 2005, overseeing winemaking across the four estates of the group, with sustainability and organic viticulture expanding under his leadership.

• In-house cooperage in Haro: American oak imported, seasoned for around two years, and assembled into barrels to the bodega's specification
• Manual racking every six months by candlelight across the entire range; Gran Reserva 890 receives ten manual rackings over six years in barrel
• Wines bottled without filtration; only American oak used; releases timed to drinkability rather than release schedules
• Julio Sáenz technical director since 2005, overseeing winemaking across all four estates of the La Rioja Alta Group

La Rioja Alta produces five principal wines under the Rioja DOCa label. Viña Alberdi (brand registered 1978) is a 100% Tempranillo, the most approachable entry point to the house style. Viña Arana Gran Reserva (introduced 1974) is a Tempranillo-led Gran Reserva with Graciano. Viña Ardanza Reserva, the bodega's most widely produced label at around 500,000 bottles a year, blends roughly 80% Tempranillo with 20% Garnacha from Tudelilla; each variety is aged separately in American oak for about 36 and 30 months respectively before blending. Gran Reserva 904 is a blend of approximately 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano aged four years in American oak followed by around four more years in bottle before release; it is produced in only the best vintages. Gran Reserva 890, the most age-worthy and rarest of the line, blends approximately 95% Tempranillo with small proportions of Graciano and Mazuelo and spends six years in American oak with ten manual rackings before an extended bottle rest. The 2010 Gran Reserva 890 earned acclaim across Spanish wine media at its release.

• Gran Reserva 890: approximately 95% Tempranillo with Graciano and Mazuelo; six years in American oak with ten manual rackings plus extended bottle aging; produced only in exceptional vintages
• Gran Reserva 904: approximately 90% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano; four years in American oak plus around four more years in bottle before release; produced in only the best vintages
• Viña Ardanza Reserva: roughly 80% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha (Tudelilla); each variety aged separately for about 36 and 30 months respectively in American oak; brand registered 28 September 1942
• Viña Alberdi (100% Tempranillo, brand registered 1978) and Viña Arana Gran Reserva (introduced 1974) round out the principal range

While La Rioja Alta, S.A. in Haro remains the founding estate and stylistic heart of the operation, the group has expanded into three additional Spanish wine regions over the past three decades. Lagar de Cervera in Rías Baixas (acquired 1989) produces Albariño under DO Rías Baixas. Torre de Oña in Rioja Alavesa (acquired 1995) focuses on Rioja Alavesa wines and single-vineyard work distinct from the parent estate's classical model. Áster in Ribera del Duero (founded 2002) produces Tempranillo (Tinta del País) under DO Ribera del Duero. All four estates operate under technical director Julio Sáenz with the founding bodega's philosophy of estate-grown fruit, careful selection, and a commitment to releasing wines only when they are judged ready. Guillermo de Aranzabal Bittner was appointed Managing Director of the group in 2025, taking on the leadership succession at age 30 as a sixth-generation member of the founding family.

• Lagar de Cervera (Rías Baixas, since 1989): produces Albariño under DO Rías Baixas
• Torre de Oña (Rioja Alavesa, since 1995): focuses on Rioja Alavesa wines and single-vineyard work
• Áster (Ribera del Duero, since 2002): produces Tempranillo under DO Ribera del Duero
• All four estates share the founding bodega's philosophy under technical director Julio Sáenz; Guillermo de Aranzabal Bittner appointed Managing Director in 2025