La Rioja Alta Tasting

I attended a tasting of La Rioja Alta wines on April 2, 2015 at Ancona's Wine and Liquors in Ridgefield CT. La Rioja Alta has been producing wine since the late 1800's. They are among the elite producers in Rioja and make their wine in the traditional style. That is to say, wines that have been given time to develop slowly with longer aging than is done by more "modern" producers. Tasting these wines is a treat. They undergo barrel aging from more than 2 years to over 6 years for the Gran Reservas. Only a small fraction of the world's wines are given this care and attention. 

The wines were the Rioja Reserva Vina Alberdi 2008, Rioja Reserva Vina Ardanza 2005, Rioja Reserva Vina Arana 2006, Rioja Gran Reserva '904' 2004, Rioja Gran Reserva '890' 2001, and the Rioja Gran Reserva '890' 1998. 


The Vina Alberdi is the only wine that sees new oak. I have enjoyed this  many times and at over 6 years of age you can still call this a young wine. Following the Alberdi each wine got increasingly more complex and silky. It is hard to believe that wines with as much barrel and bottle age can be so lively and promise many more years of life. That is the magic of traditional producers like La Rioja Alta. 


This was my first time at an Ancona's event and in addition to the unique venue in their family's former home, everyone involved was friendly and very knowledgeable. It is always fun to taste with folks that love wine as much as I do. 

As post script I have to mention another unique feature of Ancona's Wine and Liquors. A great selection yes, but they also have 2 wine dispensers. Monique was kind enough to welcome us when we arrived early and offered to let us taste some of the wines that were opened. My favorites were a Kermit Lynch Beaujolais and the Chateau Musar 2000. Musar is the legendary wine from Lebanon. If I only lived closer!