Viña Ijalba

At first glance this rather modern producer might seem to have little in common with its illustrious neighbor (Lopez de Heredia), but in fact María José was pleased to hear we would be representing the property. Ijalba has set the standard for environmental awareness in the region, from its organic production to its extensive re-cycling and environmental certification for the winery. The vineyards were all planted in disused quarries, which perhaps explains the remarkable minerality they are endowed with, especially the bigger reds with bottle age. The estate’s other distinction is the championing of the less-known varieties of Rioja such as the two Maturanas and Graciano. They have now unveiled some attractive new packaging to go with their never-ending efforts at improvement, spearheaded by long-time talented cellarmaster, Pepe, who absolutely excelled with his red wines in 2016.

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Producer:	Viña Ijalba
Country:	Spain
Region:	Rioja
City of Origin:	Logroño
Owner Name:	Dionisio Ruiz Ijalba
Vineyard Size:	222.30 acres
Total Annual Production:	60,000 bottles

Property History:

Viña Ijalba is the history of a family, as well as a commitment to the evolution of Rioja, from the day that Dionisio Ruiz planted his first vine in 1975 on an old gravel pit, which reproduced the natural conditions in which vines grow in La Rioja. And so began the pioneering road, innovative and clear, that Viña Ijalba has been travelling since then. Viña Ijalba has its own stories involving the transformation of gravel pits and open cast mines into new vinyeards, and the recovery of rare indigenous varieties of Rioja vines that had almost dissappeared.

Owner History:

Dionisio Ruiz, Ijalba founder, is now 86 years old and he is a very important business man in Rioja with his open sky mine business. He always worked hard and focused on realizing his dreams, and hence was able to make his own winery in the 90's from his own vines planted in the 70's in his old quarries...