La Rioja Alta, founded in 1890, is renowned for producing traditionally-styled wines that deliver consistency and age-worthiness, vintage after vintage. This historic bodega was formed in 1890 by five winegrowers eager to explore the export potential of “modern” wines from the region. At that time, French vineyards were ravaged by phylloxera and quality was inconsistent. Rioja, separated from France by the Pyrenees, boasted a favorable climate and phylloxera-free soils. Experiments with Bordeaux-style vinification and barrique-aging proved successful and a new style of wine, based upon the indigenous Tempranillo grape, and aged in barrique, was developed. Since then, many wineries in Rioja have continued to experiment, slowly moving away aging in American oak as has been the tradition, or even no oak at all. La Rioja Alta is adamant about preserving their historic style, however, and continues to mature their wines in American oak barriques, leading to the classic savory style the region is so well known for. This is not to say that La Rioja Alta is a rustic winery, however, as they now occupy a new ultra-modern winery near Haro. All the wines produced are aged for extended periods of time in barrel and bottle; they are ready for consumption but will continue to age for many more years. This release of wines with several years age is a rarity in today’s wine world, where most wine is released soon after production, and collectors must patiently wait for the wines to mature.