La Rioja Alta, S.A.

La Rioja Alta was founded in 1890, when five Riojan and Basque families created the Sociedad Vinícola de La Rioja Alta in Haro's Station District. The first president was a woman, Doña Saturnina García Cid y Gárate, and the first winemaker was the Frenchman Monsieur Vigier, whose first wine, the Reserva 1890, was the predecessor of today's Gran Reserva 890. In 1904 Don Alfredo Ardanza, a founder of La Rioja Alta and owner of the Ardanza Winery, proposed merging the two companies; the Reserva 1904 made to commemorate the event eventually became the Gran Reserva 904. The company took its definitive name, La Rioja Alta, S.A., in 1941, and on 28 September 1942 it registered the Viña Ardanza brand. The Viña Arana brand was introduced in 1974, replacing the classic 6º Año, and in 1978 the house registered Viña Alberdi, which replaced the old Tercer Año (Third Year). The first vintage of the Club de Cosecheros, the winery's customer club, came in 1976. The company celebrated its centennial in 1990 and in 1996 built a new cellar in the municipality of Labastida. In 2023 the Gran Reserva 904 brand released its first Selección Especial. The Consejo Regulador DOCa Rioja and Decanter both report that the founding families' descendants still own the winery.

• 1890: Sociedad Vinícola de La Rioja Alta founded by five Riojan and Basque families in Haro's Station District
• 1904: merger with Alfredo Ardanza's Ardanza Winery, commemorated by the Reserva 1904, later Gran Reserva 904
• 1941: definitive name La Rioja Alta, S.A.; 28 September 1942: Viña Ardanza brand registered
• 1974: Viña Arana replaces 6º Año; 1978: Viña Alberdi registered, replacing Tercer Año
• 1996: new cellar built in Labastida

As of September 2026 the winery's team page lists Guillermo de Aranzabal Bittner as Managing Director (CEO), Julio Sáenz as Head Winemaker, Roberto Frías as Viticulture Director, Olga Verde as Winemaker at Lagar de Fornelos, and Miguel Muela as Winemaker at Áster; the same page quotes Guillermo de Aranzabal as President of La Rioja Alta, S.A. The Board of Directors appointed Guillermo de Aranzabal Bittner Managing Director (CEO) in May 2025, succeeding Ángel Barrasa Sobrón, who retired after two decades in the role and remains a member of the Board of Directors. Aranzabal Bittner represents the sixth generation of the founding family and joined the company in 2020 as Deputy Managing Director.

• Guillermo de Aranzabal Bittner, Managing Director (CEO) since May 2025, sixth generation of the founding family
• Guillermo de Aranzabal, President of La Rioja Alta, S.A.
• Julio Sáenz, Head Winemaker; Roberto Frías, Viticulture Director
• Ángel Barrasa Sobrón, Managing Director for two decades before 2025, remains on the Board of Directors

The group owns more than 800 hectares of its own vineyards. The Consejo Regulador DOCa Rioja describes Tempranillo as the main variety, alongside Graciano, Mazuelo, and Garnacha. The winery states that it limits production to under 5,000 kilos per hectare. Its technical sheets name estate vineyards in Briñas, Labastida, Villalba, and Rodezno for Tempranillo, the Montecillo vineyard in Fuenmayor for Graciano, and the Cuesta vineyard in Cenicero and Montecillo for the Tempranillo in Viña Ardanza. The Garnacha for Viña Ardanza comes from La Pedriza in Tudelilla, Rioja Oriental, a 40-hectare estate; Decanter reports that its vines were planted in 1999. Viña Alberdi draws on the Mayorita, Las Monjas, El Palo, and El Bardal vineyards in Rodezno and Alto del Rey in Labastida, at 500 to 600 metres on clay-limestone soils. The company has allocated 16 hectares of vineyards to 100% organic viticulture and has installed a solar farm in Labastida. Decanter reported that it acquired 35 hectares of old vines, with a minimum age of 45 years, in the village of Elvillar in Rioja Alavesa.

• More than 800 hectares of own vineyards across the group
• Tempranillo as the main variety, with Graciano, Mazuelo, and Garnacha (Consejo Regulador DOCa Rioja)
• Production held under 5,000 kilos per hectare
• Garnacha for Viña Ardanza from La Pedriza, a 40-hectare estate in Tudelilla, Rioja Oriental
• 16 hectares allocated to 100% organic viticulture

The winery describes its approach as combining tradition (making its own barrels, racking by candlelight, and long ageing) with modern winemaking technology. Its coopers make every barrel from wood imported from the United States and dried in the open air for two years at the Haro facilities, and every barrel is racked by candlelight, which the winery says removes sediment naturally and lets it monitor each barrel individually. The Consejo Regulador DOCa Rioja notes an optical grape selection system implemented in 2015, and the current technical sheets describe optical sorting tables. Decanter reported in 2020 that the 890 had been aged for seven years in American oak in 1981 and now spends six years, with rackings reduced from 12 to 10.

• Barrels made in-house from US-imported wood dried in the open air for two years in Haro
• Every barrel racked by candlelight
• Optical grape selection system implemented in 2015 (Consejo Regulador DOCa Rioja)
• 890 barrel ageing cut from seven years (1981) to six, with rackings reduced from 12 to 10 (Decanter, 2020)

The La Rioja Alta, S.A. range under DOCa Rioja comprises Gran Reserva 890, Gran Reserva 904, Viña Arana Gran Reserva, Viña Ardanza Reserva, and Viña Alberdi Selección Especial Reserva. The current Gran Reserva 890 (2011) blends 95% Tempranillo, 3% Graciano, and 2% Mazuelo and was aged for six years in barrel with ten traditional rackings; the winery calls it its most special wine. According to Julio Sáenz, speaking to Decanter in 2020, in years when no 890 is produced the fruit goes to Viña Arana. The current Gran Reserva 904 (2016) is 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano, aged for four years in the winery's own American oak barrels with racking every six months. Viña Arana Gran Reserva (2017) is 95% Tempranillo and 5% Graciano, aged three years in barrel with racking every six months. Viña Ardanza Reserva (2020) blends 80% Tempranillo with 20% Garnacha; the Tempranillo spent 36 months in barrel with six manual rackings and the Garnacha 30 months with five. Viña Alberdi Selección Especial (2021) is 100% Tempranillo aged two years in American oak barrels from the winery's own cooperage; the winery says 2021 is only the second time in Viña Alberdi's history that it has awarded the Special Selection classification.

• Gran Reserva 890 (2011): 95% Tempranillo, 3% Graciano, 2% Mazuelo; six years in barrel, ten rackings
• Gran Reserva 904 (2016): 90% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano; four years in the winery's own American oak
• Viña Arana Gran Reserva (2017): 95% Tempranillo, 5% Graciano; three years in barrel
• Viña Ardanza Reserva (2020): 80% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha; 36 and 30 months in barrel respectively
• Viña Alberdi Selección Especial (2021): 100% Tempranillo; two years in the winery's own American oak

In 1988 the company settled in O Rosal, Pontevedra, in Galicia, acquiring the traditional winery Fernández Cervera Hermanos, S.L., renaming it Lagar de Fornelos, S.A., and keeping the Lagar de Cervera brand name. In 1990 it began planting the first vines of Áster in Ribera del Duero; the winery was built in 2000. In 1995 it acquired the Torre de Oña, S.A. winery in Páganos, Rioja Alavesa, a purchase that included 45 hectares of vineyards; its first wine was the Barón de Oña Reserva 1989. In 2024 the group introduced two wines in a modern style: Lindeiros 2021, an Albariño from Rías Baixas, and El Camino 2021 from Rioja Alavesa, part of its Viñedos Artesanales (Artisanal Vineyards) project.

• Lagar de Fornelos (Rías Baixas): former Fernández Cervera Hermanos winery in O Rosal, acquired 1988; Lagar de Cervera brand retained
• Áster (Ribera del Duero): first vines planted 1990, winery built 2000
• Torre de Oña (Rioja Alavesa): acquired 1995 in Páganos with 45 hectares of vineyards
• Lindeiros 2021 (Albariño) and El Camino 2021 (Viñedos Artesanales) introduced in 2024

The winery is at Avda. de Vizcaya, 8, in Haro (La Rioja). Its guided tour of the century-old winery runs Monday to Friday at 10:15 am and ends with a commented tasting of four wines, including an old vintage.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.riojalta.com/en/, https://www.riojalta.com/en/la-rioja-alta-group/, https://www.riojalta.com/en/la-rioja-alta-group/wineries/, https://www.riojalta.com/en/la-rioja-alta-group/la-rioja-alta-team/, https://www.riojalta.com/en/la-rioja-alta-group/making/, https://www.riojalta.com/en/la-rioja-alta-group/sustainability/, https://www.riojalta.com/en/wine-tourism/rioja-alta/, https://www.riojalta.com/en/wines_rioja-alta/, https://www.riojalta.com/en/wines_rioja-alta/gran-reserva-890/, https://www.riojalta.com/en/wines_rioja-alta/gran-reserva-904/, https://www.riojalta.com/en/wines_rioja-alta/vina-alberdi/, https://www.riojalta.com/en/wines_rioja-alta/vina-arana/, https://www.riojalta.com/en/wines_rioja-alta/vina-ardanza/, https://www.riojalta.com/en/blog-news/post/guillermo-de-aranzabal-bittner-newly-appointed-managing-director-ceo-la-rioja-alta-s/, https://www.riojalta.com/en/blog-news/post/la-rioja-alta-s-third-most-admired-winery-world/. Secondary sources: https://riojawine.com/en-us/bodegas-rioja/la-rioja-alta-sa/, https://www.decanter.com/premium/la-rioja-alta-the-art-of-ageing-435442/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/la-rioja-alta-expands-with-artisanal-vineyard-deals-477315/. Last verified 2026-09-23