Most of us enjoy debating the greatest vintages of a given region, producer or wine. But it’s rare to find the kind of consensus the Rioja establishment has when it comes to the 1970s. 

In the view of the official consejo—which represents the producers—the years of 1970, 1975 and 1978 stand alone in that decade. And as time has gone by, critics and collectors have come to agree. 

Yet, finding pristine bottles from these three mythic years is increasingly difficult, thanks in part to the decade’s tiny harvests, which were about one-quarter of today’s crops. 

Fortunately, we enjoy world-exclusive access to the library of old vintages belonging to one of the most important Rioja bodegas, Riojanas, which was founded in 1890.

As a result, we can offer—for the first time ever and direct from Riojanas’ library—their iconic Viña Albina Gran Reserva in a three-vintage trilogy of 1970, 1975 and 1978.  

Needless to say, the condition of each bottle is immaculate. And the wines are breathtakingly rich and youthful.

Thanks to our decades of advocacy for great Spanish wine, we've forged close relationships with most of Rioja’s historic bodegas. And that has afforded some unique privileges. Among the greatest of these is having sole access to Riojanas’ library of perfectly preserved old vintages.  

Every bottle that comes from the library is a legendary Gran Reserva, either Monte Real or Viña Albina, and none of the bottles have ever before left Riojanas’ cellar. 

In the past, we’ve made several exciting offers of Monte Real and Viña Albina from the Riojanas library. But this is the first time you will have seen these three vintages of Albina with this very desirable library provenance (and bearing the special ex-Riojanas Library back label). 

And so this represents an extraordinary opportunity for anyone who loves great, traditionally made red wine at its peak of ambrosial maturity. 

Wines available from this offer:

Year	Description	Size	Notes	Avail/ Limit	Price
1970	1970 Riojanas Vina Albina Rioja Gran Reserva			12+	$245.00	add

Other available vintages:

Year	Description	Size	Notes	Avail/ Limit	Price
1952	1952 Riojanas Vina Albina Rioja Gran Reserva		JG95	2	$695.00	add
1975	1975 Riojanas Vina Albina Rioja Gran Reserva (ex-Riojanas Library) 1.5 L	1.5 L	JG94 Read Notes	12	$399.95	add
2001	2001 Riojanas Vina Albina Rioja Gran Reserva (ex-Riojanas Library)		JG93+ / JG93+ / JG93+ Read Notes	12+*	$59.95	add
2004	2004 Riojanas Vina Albina Rioja Gran Reserva (ex-Riojanas Library)		JG93+ / JG93+ / JG93+ Read Notes	12	$54.95	add
2005	2005 Riojanas Vina Albina Rioja Gran Reserva		JG93	12	$33.75	add
2011	2011 Riojanas Vina Albina Rioja Gran Reserva		JG94 Read Notes	12	$32.50	add