The origin of this winery, owned by the Asturias-based El Gaitero group, a leading cider producer, is the partnership established in the mid-1970s between Cvne and the Masaveu Mora-Figueroa family, bottlers of Coca-Cola in southern Spain, to purchase a large property in Rioja Oriental. The aim of Viñedos de Alfaro was to provide Cvne with a secure supply of grapes, particularly Viura and Graciano, to compensate for the erratic climatic conditions in Rioja Alta. To this end, 100 hectares of vines were planted in five different locations.

In 2005, Cvne sold its 50% stake to El Gaitero, which took control of the company in 2018. The aim of this new phase was to produce wine. They started in a rented winery that same year, and by 2009 they had new, spacious and functional facilities in the middle of their vineyards in Aldeanueva de Ebro. Chema Pangua has overseen the winemaking throughout these years.

In 2018, the brand Conde del Real Agrado, which referred to a nobleman from León, was revamped to become Real Agrado, with more emphasis on the Spanish meaning of the word "agrado" as something pleasurable. The vineyards, located halfway between Alfaro and Aldeanueva de Ebro and stretching from the valley to the foothills of the Sierra de Yerga, were also given greater prominence on the labels. All the wines are made from the winery's own grapes. Current production is around 350,000 bottles.

Canterabuey stands out among the vineyards of the valley. It comprises 3.5 hectares of alluvial Garnacha destined for one of Rioja's first Viñedo Singular wines (around €20). Production varies depending on the vintage (from 11,300 bottles in the ripe 2018 vintage to just over 2,000 bottles in the more fragrant and juicy 2019 vintage).

With 30 hectares under vine, La Lobera is Real Agrado's largest property and is home to the four main Rioja red grape varieties: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo. The soils are also alluvial, but poorer and richer in stones, which makes for good ripening. The single-vineyard red produced here (€29, around 6,000 bottles) is a blend of all four varieties in almost equal proportions, structured and with plenty of everything (fruit, acidity, alcohol) intended to be laid down.

Rodiles, the plot where the winery is located, also has alluvial soils with a clay-limestone profile and consists of five hectares planted with Graciano. Its single-vineyard red (€50, less than 3,000 bottles) is one of the most powerful versions of this variety in Rioja, usually released ten years after harvest.

The jewel in the crown is Las Planas: 11 hectares of Viura planted in 1980 in the eponymous site on the slopes of Sierra de Yerga, on shallower, limestone-rich soils. The vines are planted on the top of a hill dominating a gully, which allows them to be exposed to the north wind and to the day-night temperature variations. The white Las Planas (around 3,000 bottles, €40) is a Viura to look out for in Rioja and with good cellaring potential.

The latest high-end release is Eralena, a hundred-year-old Garnacha from Préjano, at the upper end of the Cidacos river valley. There are only a few hundred bottles, and the emphasis is on opulence and texture, which is why they look for a fairly high degree of ripeness.

Compared to the previous wines, grouped in the "Raíces" (Roots) range, the bulk of the production follows the traditional Rioja ageing indications. Under the Real Agrado brand, there are three young wines (white, rosé and red), priced at around €6. The red stands out for its spicy, lively character, the result of blending Garnacha with carbonic maceration Tempranillo and a small amount of Mazuelo.

Although rather classic on the nose, the Crianza (€8), a blend of Garnacha and Tempranillo, is lively on the palate, while the Reserva (€16, 50,000 bottles) adds some Graciano and Mazuelo to the equation. Another popular wine is Va! (€12, 8,000 bottles), an expressive carbonic maceration Tempranillo which, along with the Canterabuey and Eralena Garnachas, is one of the few in the range with Burgundy bottles.