2015 will not be, for us, just another year. 125 years is a great cause for satisfaction, pride and celebration. It will be on 10 July when, glass in hand, we officially toast these first 125 vintages. There is no doubt that an anniversary such as this is well worth celebrating. Throughout these 365 days, there will be many surprises and events for us to properly feast our anniversary and, moreover, to do so together with you.

Because if there is something that we wish to transmit at La Rioja Alta, S.A., it is our immense gratitude to those who, in one way or another, have been, are and will continue to be part of our House. We are a winery that has become today a great international wine benchmark, thanks to the enterprising character of its founders and their descendants, to the dedication and passion of its employees and, of course, to the confidence of our customers, who, one harvest after the next since 1890, have chosen us to enjoy the pleasure, excitement and feeling of a glass of good wine.

We have always longed to convey, both in our wines and in all the services we offer, our constant pursuit of the highest quality. That yearning for excellence which we have referred to here on more than one occasion is, in our belief, essential to understanding the affection, loyalty and recognition we have received during these 125 vintages. All this motivates us to look to the future with as much optimism as possible and with the same responsibility.

For us the toast on 10 July 2015 will be truly special. It will combine past, present and future but, above all, it will condense the most sincere gratitude for 125 years of wine... and friendship.

The American magazine unveils its list of the 100 best wines in the world

Viña Ardanza 2005 is the most highly-rated Spanish wine of 2014 in Wine Spectator. This list includes the selection of the 100 best wines in the world after tasting of 18,000 samples from 15 countries.

The renowned magazine Wine Spectator has published this eagerly anticipated international classification every year since 1988. The choice is based on quality, price, availability and "excitement" for the wines amongst the tasters.

Thomas Matthews, Executive Editor of Wine Spectator, describes the Viña Ardanza 2005 as having a "silky texture" and "sanguine flavours", including notes of "dried cherry, orange peel [and] tobacco." In addition, Matthews underscores the "firm tannins and balsamic acidity" of a wine that is "focused and fresh with a tasty finish."

The 2005 vintage of Viña Ardanza had already been chosen by Wine Spectator as the best Smart Buy in June 2014, heading an international selection of nine wines that "deliver fine character at affordable prices and that are broadly available."

September 2014 The Tempranillo was ripening and the berries were already almost black. I was taking an evening walk among the youngest vines in our La Cuesta vineyard in Cenicero. I was checking on the health of the clusters and canopies and, every so often, I would pick a berry and taste it to see how the ripening phase was going.

By sheer chance, among the nearly 200,000 vines planted in this estate, I came across a very peculiar vine. Its berries were not black but greyish-pink. My first conclusion was "the nursery must have sent us a vine of the wrong variety," without worrying much more about it. However, after looking at the behaviour of the plant for a few moments, at the shape and colour of its leaves and shoots, etc., I realised this strange vine seemed to be Tempranillo. Before going home, I marked the row where I found the vine. The following day, I returned and confirmed my first impressions. The plant was in fact a Tempranillo and the grapes were sweet; sweeter, in fact, than the normal red grapes around it.

I returned periodically until harvest to see how it evolved. As the sweetness of the berries increased, the colour changed from greyish -pink to dark brown. I remembered then that the Pinot Grigio has a similar colour. So, I therefore allowed myself to "baptise" this finding as "Tempranillo Gris" or "Grey Tempranillo".

Seeing that our discovery could be very important, I got in touch with Fernando Martínez de Toda, Professor at the Department of Viticulture in the University of La Rioja and an expert in recovering ancient, little grown or endangered grape varieties. He told me that we might well be looking at a case of mutation in the genes of the (red) Tempranillo that determines berry colour. This happened in 1988, when a grower in Murillo de Río Leza discovered a (red) Tempranillo vine that had fully ripe clusters of yellow grapes. This was the origin of the Tempranillo Blanco grape variety which was eventually included in the list of authorised native grape varieties by the D.O. Rioja Control Board in 2009.

Just before Christmas, technicians from the University of La Rioja Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences took cane samples to carry out a genetic analysis. By the way, Fernando Martínez de Toda prefers the term "Tempranillo Royo" instead of "Gris". It sounds more like something from our land. We shall see what happens.

WHAT THE 2010 HARVEST WAS LIKE

It was marked by the high quality and moderate volume of the grapes picked. Suitable weather during the final phase of the growing cycle was decisive for quality. Our vineyards provided grapes with optimal health, allowing for very well-balanced colour, acidity and alcohol.

WHICH GRAPES DID WE SELECT?

100% Tempranillo from high-altitude, estate-owned vineyards in Rodezno and Labastida. These vineyards are located at an altitude of 500-600 metres above sea level, planted more than three decades ago in chalky-clay soils.

ONCE IN THE WINERY...

After fermenting, the wine was aged in American oak barrels manufactured in-house —the first year in new oak and the second in barrels averaging 4 years in age. The wine was manually racked four times by the light of a candle. It was bottled in June 2011.

WE UNCORK IT AND...

We enjoy a medium-high intensity, dark cherry-red wine with a pink rim. Clean and bright. Its nose is intense, with dominating ripe fruit and strawberry jam rounding off the background of notes from oak ageing —vanilla, caramel, and smoke. Medium-bodied in the mouth, with a pleasant acidity and soft, round tannins to provide a very pleasant mouthfeel. Intense finish, with persistent hints of strawberry jam and cocoa, and a seductive final acidity that entices one to continue drinking.

WHAT SHOULD WE PAIR IT WITH?

It is characterised by a notable food-pairing versatility. It is an ideal companion to appetisers, snacks and barbecues, perfect with rice, pastas and stews, and great with lightly-grilled meat and fish.

After fermentation, wines are found in deposits separated into batches separated by plot of origin, grape variety, vineyard age, and so on. At this time our winemaker examines the characteristics and qualities of each tank. He then makes an initial forecast of which brand each batch will be marketed under. He identifies the most suitable for each type and they all begin barrel ageing separately.

Exhaustive monitoring is carried out throughout the ageing process. Every batch is tasted and those that do not evolve adequately are discarded. After ageing in oak, each batch is again transferred to stainless steel tanks. They are still maintained apart. Samples are taken and sent to the laboratory, and different proposed blends are made, although all must fulfil two essential premises. The first is that they are representative of the brand they are to have and the second is that there is a clear continuity with other samples of the same brand from different, recently-bottled vintages.

For this reason, all proposed blends are subjected to several tastings. The first, with winemaking and production personnel. If they pass the first screening, they are presented to the Tasting Committee of the winery made of, among others, by the President, the CEO, the Production Manager and the Winemaker. Sometimes, in addition, these samples are also submitted to external advisors of international renown who periodically visit us.

At the end, a single blend is selected. The final decision is always made by the Winemaker. The full batch blend is then made and bottled and the wine starts its ageing in the winery's bottle racks.

Viña Ardanza 2005 continues to earn widespread international recognition. A few days ago it was chosen by Wine Spectator as best Spanish wine in 2014 in its Top 100 Wine List and now the good news is coming from one of the world's leading financial newspapers: the Financial Times.

In its weekend edition (29-30 November), the wine specialist Jancis Robinson included the Reserva by La Rioja Alta, S.A., in an article titled 'Reds wrapped up' with her particular selection of the top 20 international wines to enjoy during the upcoming festivities. This Top 20 List includes only two Spanish wines: Viña Ardanza, as the only Rioja and a new wine, 'Psi 2010' by Peter Sisseck, author of the renowned Pingus.

The British Master of Wine, who also published this exclusive list of wines in her blog, highlights the Viña Ardanza as a "delightfully fruity, refined wine".Robinson has no qualms about praising Rioja wineries such as La Rioja Alta, S.A. in the strongest terms: "God bless the Riojans" she writes, for they"believe in releasing their wines only when they are ready to drink". The taster concludes by mentioning the wine's "lovely purity" and "excellent value" of an extraordinary 2005 Viña Ardanza for the festive season.

It is one of the first surprises that the Haro winery has prepared to celebrate its 125 birthday. La Rioja Alta, S.A. is the first winery todesign its own video game. Called 'The Wine Garden', it is a fun application that is very easy to run and allows users to become great winemakers and use their computer or mobile device to make the renowned wines of the firm founded in 1890.

The goal of this educational platform is to serve the orders that arrive at the winery. To do this, players start by planting the vineyards which have to be cared for, fighting the pests that attack them. At harvest time, they need to select and collect only the best grapes and, they have to manually rack the wine during ageing. Finally, they bottle the different brands. This is the only way to serve orders, make greater profits and acquire new vineyards to continue playing.

Each of these phases is played through entertainingmini-games, guided by an assistant to test their skill and ability to make a wine of the highest quality.

'The Wine Garden' by La Rioja Alta, S.A. is now available, in Spanish and English, both on the website www.gruporiojalta.com and through the link www.eljardindelvino.riojalta.com and very soon you will be able to download the Mobile Android and iOS app free of charge.There are monthly prize draws for all registered users. Now you are the winemaker!

See video presentation

Lagar de Cervera 2013 won a Gold Medal in the third edition of the international Albariños al Mundo itinerant wine competition organised in Brussels by the Spanish Union of Wine Tasters. The jury consisted for the most part of the top Belgian wine prescriptors, who assessed the 86 entries to this quality competition in a strict blind tasting. At the same event, the Viña Armenteira Orujo Blanco, also made by our Galician winery, was awarded a Silver Albariño.

Our Gran Reserva 890 and 904 and Áster Finca El Otero 2010 are three of the wines included in the exclusive international selection of 200 wines made by Robert Parker to participate in two events in London and Miami. The event is titled 'Icon Wines of the World' and it is organized by the famed American wine influential and his team. Attendees will have the chance to enjoy master classes, wine tastings with the winemakers and paired dinners. Parker's date with the best wines of the world was held last year in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Future venues include Chicago, San Francisco, Hong Kong and New York.