904 Gran Reserva
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically at its peak 10 to 30 years from the vintage year, though well-cellared bottles can easily endure and evolve for forty years or more.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Classic roasted lamb, slow-cooked game stews, and well-aged cheeses such as Manchego.
✨ Technical Specifications
La Rioja Alta's Gran Reserva 904 is a legendary monument to traditional Rioja winemaking. The name commemorates the year 1904, when the winery merged with the Ardanza estate. Crafted primarily from old-vine Tempranillo blended with a touch of Graciano, this wine undergoes an incredibly patient maturation process. It is aged for four years in American oak casks crafted in the estate's own cooperage, during which it is racked by hand every six months under candlelight—a traditional technique known as trasiega that clarifies the wine naturally while preserving its delicate aromatics. The result is an ethereal, silky red showcasing complex layers of dried cherry, tobacco, leather, and sweet spices, representing the soul of classic Rioja Alta terroir.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1890 in Haro's iconic Barrio de la Estación by five Basque and Riojan families, La Rioja Alta S.A. stands as an archetype of classical Spanish viticulture. Operating extensive estate holdings across Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa—complemented by satellites Torre de Oña in Páganos, Áster in Ribera del Duero, and Lagar de Cervera in Rías Baixas—the estate relies upon calcareous-clay and alluvial soils tempered by Atlantic and continental microclimates. The viticultural approach prioritizes meticulous canopy management, estate-grown fruit, and low-impact sustainable husbandry. In the cellar, the bodega is renowned for its in-house cooperage of seasoned American oak, manual barrel racking by candlelight every six months, and remarkably patient oxidative maturation. The resulting wines—exemplified by Viña Ardanza, Viña Arana, and the majestic Gran Reserva 890 and 904—display exceptional longevity, savory complexity, fine-grained tannins, and vibrant Atlantic freshness.
🍇 Grapes
Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo