Alma La Rad

"Powerful, complex, structured but very elegant and silky entry" —
Winemaker, Gregorio Gordaliza
Winery
Appellation
Rioja D.O.Ca.
Grape(s)
50% Tempranillo, 50% Graciano; limited production of 2,000 bottles
Altitude/Soil
550 meters / Limestone soil, of medium depth, with abundant rounded stones and open texture
Farming Methods
Practicing Organic, Vegan
Harvest
Between the first and second week of October
Production
Fermented in 500L barrels, malolactic conversion in 225L and 500L new, French oak barrels
Aging
Aged for 18 months in new French oak barrels and additional 24 months in the bottle
Suggested Retail Price
$90
Wine Name
Scores
Downloads
Reviews
Alma La Rad 2015
93 (TA)
Score Publication Review Copy
93 Tim Atkin MW Graciano ripens well in the warmer conditions of the Rioja Oriental, bringing backbone and structure as well as flavour to this blend with Tempranillo. Aged in new wood, it's an ambitious wine with savoury tannins, some earthy, forest floor notes and layers of damson and blueberry fruit. 2021-27.
Rioja 2020 Special Report; February 2020
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Alma La Rad 2016
92+ (VfC)
Score Publication Review Copy
92+ View from the Cellar I know I do not get around as much as I used to, but this is the heaviest bottle of Rioja I have ever crossed paths with, including some of those glass behemoths from Roda. However, despite the heavy-gauged glass, the wine is quite classical in its sensibilities, being composed of a blend of forty percent Tempranillo, forty percent Garnacha and ten percent each of Graciano and Maturana. It is a single vineyard bottling from the la Rad vineyard and was fermented and underwent malo in eight hundred liter French casks, after which it spent fourteen months in new French oak barrels prior to bottling. This is a very limited bottling, as there are only four hundred and sixteen cases produced, which is too bad, as the wine is excellent. The complex and classy bouquet wafts from the glass in a mix of raspberries, cherries, Rioja spices, a fine base of soil tones, a touch of nutskin and a very deft framing of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, ripe and focused, with an excellent core of fruit, impressive soil signature, ripe, buried tannins and a long, tangy and gently warm finish. This is listed at 14.5 percent octane and is a bit warm on the backend, but also long, complex and balanced. I would love to see it a bit lower in octane, but there is serious depth and complexity here and I suspect it will age quite gracefully, even at 14.5 percent alcohol. Given my predisposition for the traditional camp in Rioja, I was surprised just how much I liked this wine! It is slightly modern in style, but still pays homage to the great terroir of Rioja and is more hybrid than brazenly modern in personality. It is certainly a very, very good wine in the making! But, given that the world is burning, could we perhaps bottle future vintages in a less heavy bottle? 2024-2055.
Issue # 85 - January/February 2020
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Alma La Rad 2017
92 (TA)
Score Publication Review Copy
92 Tim Atkin MW Alma is the flagship red from Casa La Rad, marrying equal parts Tempranillo and Graciano with 10% Cabernet Sauvignon in a harmonious cuvée. Rich, concentrated and built to age, with lots of fine-grained, mocha oak, layers of youthful dark berry fruit, glossy tannins and the freshness and lift that are typical of the 2018 vintage at its best. 2024-30
Tim Atkin; Rioja Report - February 2021
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