Gran Reserva 890
⏳ Drinking Window
2025 - 2050
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted rack of lamb, slow-cooked venison stew, and mature aged cheeses.
✨ Technical Specifications
La Rioja Alta’s Gran Reserva 890 is a monument to traditional Rioja winemaking, named in honor of the winery's founding year, 1890. Originally labeled as 'Reserva 1890,' the name was later adapted to '890' to prevent confusion with specific vintage dates. This legendary cuvée is produced only in exceptional vintages from the oldest estate vineyards in Briñas, Labastida, and Villalba. The blend is dominated by Tempranillo, complemented by small portions of Graciano and Mazuelo. True to the winery's artisanal heritage, the wine undergoes an extraordinary aging process, resting for six years in hand-coopered American oak barrels with manual rackings by candlelight, followed by extensive bottle aging. The result is a wine of profound complexity, displaying notes of dried tobacco, leather, balsamic, and stewed red fruits, underpinned by silky tannins and vibrant acidity.
🍾 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