The Garnacha grapes in our La Pedriza vineyard in Tudelilla (Rioja Baja) marked the end of the 2014 harvest for La Rioja Alta, S.A. Despite the intermittent rain during the first two weeks, which slowed down the harvest and forced us to be even more careful when selecting the bunches, the 2014 vintage fulfilled the initial high quality expectations. We are now drawing off the first wines of this vintage after they have naturally completed maceration and first fermentation.

Last week, we finished the harvest in Torre de Oña, Rioja Alavesa where, as in previous years, we were very selective, doing one plot at a time, always seeking optimum ripeness. After the first day of harvest on 2nd October, we decided to wait until 12th October, when we resumed the vintage, picking the grapes for the Torre de Oña Reserva, which stand out for their excellent quality. After an 8-day cold soak to bring out the characteristics of each varietal, the grapes began alcoholic fermentation, which is separated plot by plot.

At Áster, Ribera del Duero, we finished the manual harvest of the different plots surrounding our winery this week. We are now waiting to see how the future wines evolve, but we are very pleased so far with the high quality of the grapes of this 2014 vintage. They showed good health and ripeness and the first musts and wines have great colour with plentiful aromas.

We can only thank our entire team for the great work they have done these past weeks both on the field and in our four wineries, where the work now continues so we can offer you the magnificent wines of this 2014 vintage.