A historic Rioja producer, Bodegas Riojanas was established in 1890 by the Artacho family in partnership with Rafael Carreras. However, the winemaking tradition dates back to 1799, as evidenced by a stone doorway that led to one of the vineyards and now stands at the entrance of the cellar in Cenicero. This location (Cenicero had a railway station) enabled the winery to transport its wine.
In 1930, after the phylloxera outbreak, the company became a private limited company under the name Román Artacho y Compañía and in 1940 it changed into a public limited company and adopted its current name. The company underwent an expansion increasing the number of barrels to 4,000 and the capacity of its warehouses to two million litres. Further expansions followed in 1950, in the midst of the export boom to America, and in the 1970s with Banco Santander as a shareholder. The 1980s and 1990s saw the introduction of new technology and the addition of spaces for winemaking, oak ageing and bottle storage. In the 1990s, storage capacity almost doubled to mark the firm's 100th anniversary.
On the occasion of the 125th anniversary, the original 1890 building was refurbished to accommodate an auditorium and a cellar for special wines. Capable of handling 90,000 kg of grapes, the house’s top modern cuvées are vinified there: Gran Albina (50,000 bottles, €33) and Albina Esencia (5,000 bottles, €200). Visitors can still walk next to the old wooden vats used until 2000 and admire old vintages connected to major events and milestones of those dates.
Old vintages were not revered in the past as they are these days. Until the 1960s, library bottles were seldom stored in the cellar, and it was not until the following decade that specific cellaring facilities were built. Surprisingly, the board of directors decided against storing wine between 1980 and 1998.
Bodegas Riojanas is one of the few Spanish wine companies to trade on the stock exchange, even though around 60% of the shares are in the hands of the Frías Artacho and Artacho Nieto families, descendants of the founders. The move occurred in 1997 when Banco Santander pulled out of the shareholding. Commercial growth and expansion into other wine regions have been a priority ever since.
Viña Albina, a vineyard planted with white grapes, was the first brand of Bodegas Riojanas. Monte Real was launched in the 1930s by French oenologist Gabriel Larrendat before returning to his country in 1933. It is named after El Monte, an area in Cenicero with clay-limestone soils, gravel and some alluvial deposits due to the vicinity of the river Ebro. This is a poor terrain, with little water retention and good concentration. Grapes from this area still enter the winery, but they are usually blended with other areas of Cenicero.
Bodegas Riojanas owns 200 hectares of vines and buys from 600 additional purveyors. Beyond Cenicero, grapes are sourced from San Vicente, where they built additional winemaking and aging facilities that account for 30% of their production, Uruñuela, San Asensio, Briones or Labastida.
In terms of winemaking, grape varieties fermented together until the 1990s –it was the natural reflection of field blends. According to Felipe Nalda Frías, winemaker between 1964 and 2008 when he retired, “white grapes where put aside when possible”, but final wines usually had between 10 and 15% of them. Garnacha, mainly sourced from Tudelilla in Rioja Baja, was also added to raise alcohol to 12.5% abv. It was also common to buy wine from local “cosecheros” until the widespread arrival of cooperatives in the region. Winemaking improved as a result but it became more difficult to choose specific batches, Nalda recalls. Other practices of the past included vintage blends to improve and refresh the wines.
The legendary 1964 vintage, which remained six years in barrels, “was a generous vintage with unusually high alcohol at that time and some residual sugar issues, but the wines have passed the test of time,” says Nalda. The 1968 vintage is currently sold at Riojanas for €1,200 per bottle, as well as the 1978 (€330) and a Monte Real Edición Limitiada 1998 (€50).
The current Gran Reserva reds are the successors of the former 6th Year wines which were bottled on their 6th year in barrel. Aging times now range between 34 and 40 months. Production stands at 300,000 bottles both for Viña Albina and Monte Real Gran Reserva. Monte Real (a bit more expensive - €25 compared to €22 for the Gran Reserva category in Spain), is 100% Tempranillo, slightly more structured and sold on the on-trade. Viña Albina, in contrast, is aimed at the off-trade channel and includes Mazuelo and Graciano in the blend as well as a relatively high proportion of grapes from San Vicente de la Sonsierra; it is lighter in style and with higher acidity.
Released in the late 1990s, the brand Monte Real de Familia has been strengthened with a Crianza (100,000 bottles, €12) and a Reserva (200,000 bottles, €16). A yeast specifically selected from El Monte is set to bring further differentiation for all Monte Real wines. Recent releases include El Lago de Bodegas Riojanas (€8.50, around 80,000 bottles), a red made in traditional concrete winepresses with Tempranillo grapes grown on north-facing slopes searching freshness.
A historic producer of white wines, Riojanas saw the decline of barrel-aged styles in the 1990s. Its current portfolio includes a semi-sweet and a sweet Reserva under the Viña Albina brand as well as a barrel-fermented Monte Real.
20% of the wines are sold abroad. Main export markets are the UK followed by Germany, Mexico and the US where Riojanas has a commercial office. As a group, Riojanas has expanded to Toro with Bodegas Torreduero and also produces wines in Rueda (700,000 bottles), Rías Baixas (100,000 bottles of Veiga Naúm Albariño), Ribera del Duero, Cava, Penedès and more recently Bierzo with the brand Viore which is also used in Rueda, Toro and Ribera. In Monterrei, Riojanas acquired Terra do Gargalo.
