Lindesol Tempranillo 2017

Starting a family business is not for everyone. Many go into it expecting it to be like the Von Trapps: building a dynasty of touring, lederhosen and escaping the clutches of fascism. But it’s not all singing and dancing and many families fall out under the added pressure and proximity. It takes a family of incredible strength to make it work. But, for those that can stick out the rough patches, success is all the sweeter.

Take Viña Albizu, a family run winery in Rioja Alavesa as harmonious as the final verse of ‘My Favourite Things,' the husband works the vines, the wife the admin and the son the donkey work in the winery. Some might argue that the enticing palate of raspberry, blueberries and kirsch is solely down to the high quality of the grapes but we like to think it is also expressive of the family unity that went into making the wine.

"Right gang, it’s about time you sang 'So Long, Farwell' isn’t it?"
Albergada is a family run winery, the husband works the vines, the wife the admin and the son the donkey work in the winery. They own a chunky 50 ha of vineyards in Rioja Alavesa, and now bottle much of their own production themselves rather than buying in bulk as they used to. The family grow good quality produce - be it grapes, olives, almonds or tomatoes and they use their best grapes to make their young wines. The wines are genuine and honest.
The Lindesol is made from grapes entirely from their own vineyards planted mainly on limestone soils. Wine is made using traditional destemming and part carbonic maceration, aged in a mixture of cement and stainless-steel tanks.