Rioja Alta releases third Gran Reserva

One of Rioja’s leading wineries, La Rioja Alta, has announced the release of its third Gran Reserva wine for its Viña Arana line.

The first vintage of Viña Arana, the 2012, has just been released this month and means La Rioja Alta is the only winery in Rioja with three Gran Reserva expressions.

A blend of 95% Tempranillo sourced from vines in Las Cuevas, El Palo and Las Monjas in Rodenzo and 5% Graciano from the Montecillo estate, the two varieties were aged separately in American oak with racking every six months for three years before being blended in March 2016 and then bottle aged for two more years.

Julio Sánez, winemaker at the estate, said: “The release of this Viña Arana Gran Reserva is a historic moment for us and we have chosen a very dear brand from our winery. For this new wine we used a traditional blending with GR ‘vocation’: the Tempranillo grapes provide structure and elegance and Graciano, only used for our Gran Reservas, provides greater aromatic intensity and acidity. I think it’s the perfect balance for ageing.

“It’s a really fresh and elegant wine with structure and high aromatic intensity, easy to pair and great to enjoy. It’s the next step in our acknowledgment of a successful category of wines that has made Rioja great and famous.”

Kirsten Kilby, managing director of UK importer Armit Wines, added: “Armit Wines have been working as the exclusive importer of La Rioja Alta S.A. for almost 10 years and I am delighted that we will be the first to release this new wine worldwide. The impeccably elegant and fresh Viña Arana Gran Reserva is a testament to the incredible wine-making skills of Julio Sáenz and the team at La Rioja Alta.”