Decanter

• By Tina Gellie
  TG Weekday Wines November 2018, 9/5/2018 (link)

  (La Rioja Alta, Viña Alberdi, Rioja, Northern Spain, Spain, Red) Subscribe to see review text.

JamesSuckling.com

• By James Suckling
  6/22/2018 (link)

  (La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Alberdi Reserva, Red, Spain) Subscribe to see review text.

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Friday Reoffers: Spain Edition, 1/18/2019

  (La Rioja Alta Vina Alberdi Reserva) Hello friends. Each Friday in January, we’re going to reoffer popular wines from the past year or two where we still have limited stock remaining in the warehouse. These are all immediate gratification plays, with no long waits for the wines’ arrival. Last week was Italy. This week, we’re heading to Spain:We pre-purchased a parcel of the ’12 Alberdi after the ‘11 was such a hit with our list members. Though it had no reviews at the time, it has subsequently received some great press: James Suckling: Copyrighted material withheld. Alberdi is notable for a few reasons. First, it’s the lowest-priced wine in the La Rioja Alta lineup. (LRA is one of our favorite Rioja houses; steadfastly old-school, but not punishingly so.) Second, it’s the only 100% Tempranillo in the lineup, coming from 30-plus-year-old vineyards at 1500-2000’ above sea level. And finally, it’s the youngest of LRA’s wines. Which is of course a testament to Spain in general, and La Rioja Alta specifically, and their insistence on holding their wines until maturity. The fact that the youngest wine in their lineup is a 2012 vintage is just staggering. This was aged for two years in American oak; the first year in a new barrel, and the second in barrels averaging three years old. It was bottled in December 2015. The complex nose offers a core of black cherry fruit complicated by earthy notes of shitake mushroom and forest floor, alongside cocoa powder barrel tones. The palate combines rich Tempranillo fruit with the usual Alberdi earthy/leafy nuance. This is perfectly weighted (13.5% listed alc) and offers lingering chamomile chew on the attractive finish.

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull La Rioja Alta, 6/14/2018

  (La Rioja Alta Vina Alberdi Reserva) Hello friends. Today we have the return of a Gran Reserva from one of our list’s favorite Rioja houses: La Rioja Alta. I think we all love LRA so much because they’re old-school, but not painfully so. We consider these wines as Rioja classics—true to this particular part of the world, but still retaining plenty of accessibility. (And as a special bonus, there’s an extra LRA white and red at the bottom of this offer).We pre-purchased a parcel of the ’12 Alberdi after the ‘11 was such a hit with our list members. Though it had no reviews at the time, it has subsequently received some great press: James Suckling: Copyrighted material withheld. Alberdi is notable for a few reasons. First, it’s the lowest-priced wine in the La Rioja Alta lineup. (LRA is one of our favorite Rioja houses; steadfastly old-school, but not punishingly so.) Second, it’s the only 100% Tempranillo in the lineup, coming from 30-plus-year-old vineyards at 1500-2000’ above sea level. And finally, it’s the youngest of LRA’s wines. Which is of course a testament to Spain in general, and La Rioja Alta specifically, and their insistence on holding their wines until maturity. The fact that the youngest wine in their lineup is a 2012 vintage is just staggering. This was aged for two years in American oak; the first year in a new barrel, and the second in barrels averaging three years old. It was bottled in December 2015. The complex nose offers a core of black cherry fruit complicated by earthy notes of shitake mushroom and forest floor, alongside cocoa powder barrel tones. The palate combines rich Tempranillo fruit with the usual Alberdi earthy/leafy nuance. This is perfectly weighted (13.5% listed alc) and offers lingering chamomile chew on the attractive finish.