Spanish fine wine group La Rioja Alta S.A. might be best known as one of the definitive producers of classic, age-worthy Rioja reds. A sharpening focus on premium white wine from Galicia is also underway, however. At Lagar de Fornelos – the group’s Albariño-leaning estate in Rías Baixas – wine director Olga Verde has been steadily working on a growing pipeline of new releases which will be heading soon to the UK via Hallgarten & Novum Wines.
Speaking at an intimate London preview for the UK media, Verde set out the scale of ambition behind Lagar de Fornelos via a tasting of forthcoming releases. These included the second vintage of the premium+ 100% Albariño, Lindeiros (2022, £86.50 rrp), alongside new iterations of Lagar de Cervera (also 100% Albariño, £23.50) and varietal blend Pazo de Seoane (£24).
“We try to keep all the purity as we can in the wines,” said Verde (pictured), who was on her first visit to the UK as wine director for the Rías Baixas estate. “Everything is very clean… the technology is just to select the best grapes.”
La Rioja Alta’s move into Galicia dates back to 1988, when it acquired Lagar de Fornelos – a decision Verde described as “visionary” given the subsequent rise of Albariño.
What began as a small, 3ha hobby winery has since been transformed into one of the largest estates in the region, with more than 100ha under vine across O Rosal and Cambados sub-zones.
Growth has not come easily, however.
“In Galicia, it is not easy to have a big plot,” Verde explained. “To buy 12ha, we have to buy 500 plots from 500 families – and that means 500 problems.”
The result is a patchwork vineyard model typical of the region. Since its founding, the winery has learned to lean into a dual sourcing strategy from O Rosal and O Salnés, blending across terroirs in a way that now underpins the house style.
“The schist, mainly in O Rosal gives volume and more depth; and the granite in in O Salnés gives more citrus, more salty flavours,” Verde said.
New releases
Picture painted, Verde then introduced a handful of key wines earmarked for the UK market.
These were led by Lindeiros – the group’s attempt to redefine perceptions of Albariño longevity via lessons learned from Rioja.
“We wanted to make an aged wine in the same way as our reds,” Verde said, highlighting a five-year process to identify the right vineyard and approach.
First released in 2021, the wine is sourced from a single plot planted in 1987 and vinified across stainless steel, concrete egg and oak before extended bottle ageing.
For the upcoming Lindeiros 2022, Verde noted that warmer, drier vintages may offer greater ageing potential than previously assumed, “because the wines have a lot of structure”, she said.
Elsewhere, the Lagar de Cervera 2025, bottled just months ago, showed a markedly fresher, more citrus-led profile than the 2024 vintage, reflecting lower rainfall and earlier picking decisions. Lagar de Cervera remains the flagship, with accessible, varietal Albariño as its USP.
However, the estate is not placing all its proverbial eggs in the Albariño basket. The Pazo de Seoane 2024 from O Rosal continues to showcase regional blending traditions, incorporating Loureiro, Treixadura and Caiño Blanco alongside Albariño to create a more aromatic, floral style. The wine is aged on lees for three months with weekly battonage.
Rioja links
While Galicia is a growing focus, the group’s Rioja heritage remains key, with Viña Alberdi 2021 (£21 rrp) also previewed ahead of its UK release.
Made from 100% Tempranillo and aged for two years in American oak plus bottle ageing, the Reserva reflects La Rioja Alta’s traditional approach, including manual racking by candlelight every six months (it also acts as an accessible entry point to the house style while maintaining ageing credentials).
It is the estate’s long-term play on Albariño however that held most of the attention at the tasting. The Lindeiros range in particular remains a key focus for building premium positioning in the market via Hallgarten, which began working with La Rioja Alta in January 2023. It also signals La Rioja Alta’s intention to continue to position Galicia as a serious pillar alongside Rioja in UK retail.
