"It's a textbook example of the label, with the perfume and elegance of the Garnacha and the clout from Tempranillo." - Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
The 95-point 2020 La Rioja Alta Reserva Vina Ardanza hits the mark as one of the region's finest classically styled reds, offering fragrant, juicy dark fruit impeccably balanced by refined, polished tannins on a lingering finish. Iit's an alluring Rioja ready to enjoy over the next decade at an unbeatable price.
La Rioja Alta is renowned for releasing its wines late with extended aging, its massive cellars filled with "the equivalent of eight years in stock" according to Wine Advocate's Luis Gutiérrez. Produced only in top vintages, the 2020 Reserva Vina Ardanza came from vines over 30 years of age in the Rioja Alta sub-region, along with Garnacha from the hotter and drier 40-hectare La Pedriza vineyard, a Rioja Oriental parcel considered prime terroir for optimal ripening. Employing traditional techniques including manual racking by candlelight and fermenting with indigenous yeasts, the refined 2020 Reserva Vina Ardanza aged separately in a mix of 20% new and three-year-old American oak barrels for up to three years, with the final blend spending three more years in bottle before release, yielding a "structured and elegant" rendition that carries on the proven track record of this all-time best-seller,
This wine exhibits aromas of incense, spices and red cherries. It is medium- to full-bodied, elegant and polished, with clarity of fruit and underlying precise tannins. This will age forever. Drink or hold.
95 points, Jacobo García Andrade, James Suckling (Jun 2026)
The subtle, balsamic, structured and elegant 2020 Viña Ardanza Reserva is a blend of Tempranillo from Rioja Alta and around 20% Garnacha from Rioja Baja. It fermented destemmed in stainless steel and aged in American oak barrels, 20% of them new, for a period of 36 months in the case of the Tempranillo and 30 months for the Garnacha, then the two wines are blended before bottling. It's a textbook example of the label, with the perfume and elegance of the Garnacha and the clout from Tempranillo. It has clean aromas and is still quite fresh, only starting its tertiary phase. It comes in at 14.5% alcohol and keeps a pH of 3.57 and 5.7 grams of acidity. It's balanced, seamless and well-built, and its tannins are mostly resolved. It should live long in bottle. 500,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2024.
94 points, Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate (Mar 2026)
One of Rioja’s classic wines, aged six years like a Gran Reserva, three in American oak and three in bottle, the 2020 Vina Ardanza Reserva is named for one of the winery founders. Full-bodied and made from older vines, it’s 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha. Rounded tannins make for a plush, lush experience of baked plum and spicy dark chocolate, a lively, lengthy wine of impressive provenance offered at a more-than-fair price. Drink now through 2035.
93 points, Virginie Boone, Jeb Dunnuck (Oct 2026)
A harmonious red, offering a lovely range of baked cherry and wild strawberry fruit, licorice root, tea rose and dried fig, all set on a plush texture as this unfolds, with refined, sculpted tannins. Savory mineral, herb, leather and spice notes linger on the finish. Tempranillo and Garnacha. Drink now through 2040. 55,500 cases made, 6,100 cases imported.
93 points, Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator (May 2026)
The 2020 Viña Ardanza (80% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha) spent its first year in new oak and its second in seasoned barrels. More defined and brighter than the 2019, the nose shows red berries and a balsamic lift, framed by more restrained oak. On the palate, it is fine-grained and gently firm, still youthful, with slightly reactive tannins. It sits between the house’s classical style and a more primary, fruit-forward expression. With time, it will gain integration and precision.
92 points, Joaquín Hidalgo, Vinous (Apr 2026)
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