Wineries trip roundup, with our Shop Rioja winners

Last April, we shared a wonderful few days visiting our exceptional portfolio of Rioja wineries with a small group of Alliance customers, the latest vintage of our "Shop Rioja" competition winners.

Driving from Bilbao through the Cantabrian mountains, we arrived at our first stop, Bodegas Luis Cañas in Villabuena in the breathtaking Alavesa. A family winery, Bodegas Luis Cañas is all about respecting traditions, the wealth of biodiversity in its vineyards, and discovering some exceptional high-altitude sites that play an important part in retaining freshness in its wines.

• Highlights included their exceptional Luis Cañas Crianza 2020 and Gran Reserva 2016. The Seleccion de Familia 2002 superbly demonstrated their wines' ageing potential.

Keeping it in the family, day two started at Bodegas Amaren, run by Jon Cañas, Luis Cañas' grandson. The winery is located closer to the mountains and is noticeably cooler than in Villabuena, so typically, the harvest takes place one month later. Here, the focus is on small single-plot fermentations, ensuring each wine conveys its own personality.

• Highlights included the El Cristo De Samaniego 2020, which is showing approachability at the Viñedo Singular level, alongside Malvasia 2019, arguably one of the best expressions of the varietal from Rioja - the other being from Abel Mendoza, who was next on our journey!

Our visit coincided with wet conditions and a dip in the temperature, enough for the threat of frost to become a cause for concern. So, being welcomed to Abel Mendoza's small, humble, yet perfectly formed winery in San Vicente de la Sonsierra was one of the finest ways to spend a wet Riojan afternoon as we could imagine! A labour of love for Abel and Maite, everything is done by hand across their 16 small plots in Abalos, San Vicente and Labastida.

• Highlights included the impressive Malvasia 2023, which, despite having been bottled 15 days earlier, showed impressive vibrancy, concentration and tension, proving why Abel Mendoza is heralded for its whites in particular. The young Jarrarte Tinto 2022, meaning "between the stones", was vibrant and substantial for a carbonic maceration wine, the Jarrarte Tinto Oak Aged 2020 was dense and balsamic, whilst the Tempranillo Grano a Grano, literally meaning "grain by grain", referring to the manual selection that takes place taking only the finest berries carefully off the stalks by hand, was sublime.

Our final winery of the trip was Bodegas Manzanos, the oldest winery in Haro, the wine capital of Rioja. Now returned to its former glory, we were taken through the region's rich history and wine production methods and treated to a revelatory tasting of the Voché range.

• Highlights included the intense Graciano 2017, which exhibited dark fruit, notes of pepper and beautiful tannins, and the Palacio de Manzanos Viñedo Singular 2017 with its Atlantic-influenced Garnacha.

Logrono beckoned for the night, then early on day three, we set off to Azagra to the east, in Rioja Oriental, where Manzanos has 250 hectares of owned vineyards (with a further 700 hectares under their strict control). We toured their impressive gravity-fed winery and barrel store, then took to the road one last time, making our way up to the highest Graciano vineyard to experience the full force of the “Cierzo” wind and a chilled glass of Voché before our final tasting back at the winery.

It's hard not to be struck by the quality, attention to detail and accessibility of the Manzanos wines across every level, from the newly redesigned 1890 Finca Manzanos range to the wines we make in partnership with them under our label, deAlto.

Thanks to the wineries, Paul Shinnie, our Spanish buyer, Jean Wareing MW, and a great group of customers for making the visit both educational and fun - more photos from the trip are available here!

Explore "Our Wines" to learn more about our extensive portfolio, or get in touch to enquire about placing an order with us.