Viña Albina Reserva is an iconic Rioja wine. This Rioja Alta has been made since 1890; it is a blend of 80% Tempranillo, 15% Mazuelo, and 5% Graciano grapes from the towns of Cenicero, San Vicente and Abalos in Rioja Alta. The grapes are harvested manually, with a strict selection of our best vineyards from old vines ‘bush planted’ (no trellis, no irrigation). The use of native yeasts and the minimal intervention in the vineyard and winery, result on a wine of truly Rioja personality. This Reserva is aged for 24 months in American oak barrels and left to rest at the winery’s bottle racks until its release. Dark cherry color and a nose that shows a bright and full expression of dark red fruits, vanilla, clove, fine leather, coffee bean or toffee, cocoa. Very elegant at the same time as intense, with a complex finish and tannins that are sweet and well balanced. Persistent and inviting finish. 

Viña Albina Reserva 

2016 Vintage: 92 Wine Enthusiast, Top 100 Wines of 2020

2017 Vintage: 92 Points James Suckling

Here’s a remarkable white Rioja. Made with 80% Viura (also called Macabeo in other parts of Spain) and 20% Malvasia, both traditional grapes in Rioja, Monte Real Blanco is fermented in new American oak casks. It is then left in contact with its lees for five months, with daily batonnage. It shows a light yellow color with an impressive complex nose that reveals the oak nuances in balance with the spices and fruit: vanilla, lavender, white pepper, pear, apricot. A bright acidity and balance weight in the mouth make this white Rioja a phenomenal example of traditional whites in this region. 

Monte Real Blanco 2020

93 Points James Suckling

Monte Real Crianza is an iconic Rioja wine. Made as we know it since 1933 with 100% Tempranillo grapes from the town of Cenicero, in Rioja Alta, one of the most famous towns in La Rioja. This Crianza is aged for 18 months in American oak barrels and left to rest at the winery’s bottle racks until its release. It has an intense bright red color and a nose that shows a bright but full expression of Tempranillo and terroir. Beautifully balanced and complex, potent but with an elegant finish. 

Monte Real Crianza 2018 

 92 Points with James Suckling

Monte Real Reserva is an iconic Rioja wine. Made as we know it since 1933. It is made with 100% Tempranillo grapes from the town of Cenicero, in Rioja Alta, one of the most famous towns in La Rioja. This Reserva is aged for 24 months in American oak barrels and left to rest at the wineries bottle racks for years before it is released. 

Monte Real Reserva 2018

93 Points James Suckling

Albina Essencia is a project born from a dream to achieve a dream: to be able to offer
the world a wine that brings together the ultimate essence of Rioja and the soul of
Bodegas Riojanas.
Albina Essencia is the result of the most meticulous selection, care and attention, love,
patience, determination, desire, ambition, drive, effort, enthusiasm, humility, fatigue
and confidence ....

The grapes were harvested in boxes of 15 kilos, collected first thing in the morning to avoid high
temperatures and reduce waiting times before going to the winery. The bunches were carefully
selected as they arrived at the winery on a sorting table that allowed us to choose not only the
best bunches but also the best individual grapes.
Fermentation was carried out in conical-bodied tanks “without planting” any commercial yeasts,
in a quest to capture the typical character of the selected plots during the fermentation process,
undertaken naturally with native yeasts.
Once the alcohol fermentation was over, the wine was macerated with the skins on for 25 days
in order to achieve greater bouquet and chromatic complexity. MLF was carried out in new
lightly toasted American oak barrels.

85% of the barrels used to age this wine were made of new American oak whose wood had been
dried for 4 years to reduce the amount of green tannins. The remaining 15% were very fine-
grained, lightly dry-toasted French oak barrels. During the aging process, one of the main targets
was to conserve the greatest amount of fruit. Every six months the barrels were racked, leaving
the same wine in the barrel. Aging times range between 18
months in the case of the French oak barrels and 24 months for the American oak barrels.

No filtering was performed to stabilize this wine. The TCA-free premium quality corks were
chosen one by one to avoid problems at a later stage. Aging in the bottle took place in the oldest
part of the cellar, where they remained for 24 months before being offered for sale.

Intense cherry red color with hues of terracotta. Very
good, clean and shiny coat.
A powerful bouquet of red berries harmonized with
prune-type fruit. The aromas from the barrel, such as
vanilla, chocolate, licorice and spices, stand out most
prominently.
Great structure and powerful entry with good acidity,
elegant and well balanced. Lengthy persistence on the
palate with hints of the bouquets on the nose, mainly
licorice, chocolate and vanilla.

Small plots of Albariño in the valley of Salnés in Rias Baixas. A careful selection of grapes, followed by  stainless steel tank fermentation. Aromas of jasmine, orange blossom, apricot, apple, melon, sea salt, minerals. Very tasty, fresh and vibrant with a wonderful long finish.

Over 50 year old, bush planted vines (some of them close to 100 years old). Aged for at leats four months in French oak barrels. It is a lush, harmonious, red with notes of black currants, cherries, blackberries, floral notes of lavender, rosemary and pepper. Very pleasant and crisp, expressive, balanced, and long.

From the Eastern side of Ribera del Duero, at over 3,000 feet of elevation. The long winters and high temperatures in the summer, with possible risk of insolation, favour a slow ripening with optimal level of acidity which results in excellent grapes. Another benefit from altitude is that it helps mitigate the effects of climate change, preserving the freshness of the fruit.

When the grapes arrive at the winery, they immediately undergo a strict selection on the sorting table. The winery is gravity fed: the grapes are transferred to the tanks by 1,000-kilogram OVIS without the use of pumps or pipes that could damage the integrity of the berries. For the fermentation and maceration of the grapes, very wide 15,000-litre tanks are utilized in order to increase the contact surface between the must and the skins, thus optimizing the extraction of aromatic and colour components. It is then aged for 6 months in small French-oak barrels. Powerful cherry-red colour. The fruit character of blackberries and blueberries dominates over the aromas of licorice and spices from the barrel ageing. The brief ageing in oak barrels adds structure and balance which become evident on the palate, while the fresh varietal character prevails. Its delicate acidity, combined with soft and round tannins result in an excellent final persistence with hints of candied red fruit and vanilla and toffee nuances.