Grupo La Rioja Alta, S.A. Expands Distribution Deal with Hallgarten Wines
Specialist wine importer, Hallgarten & Novum Wines, has broadened its distribution agreement with Grupo La Rioja Alta, S.A., one of ‘The World’s Most Admired Wine Brands’*
Having first been appointed to represent Grupo La Rioja Alta, S.A. in the UK On Trade in January 2023, this enhanced strategic partnership sees Hallgarten also take responsibility for distribution into the UK’s fine wine and independent retail sectors, including to sister company, Lay & Wheeler.
The distribution agreement all wineries in the group, including La Rioja Alta, S.A., Torre de Oña (Rioja Alavesa), Lagar de Cervera (Rías Baixas) and Áster (Ribera del Duero), which total 920 hectares of estate-owned vineyards.
Stéphane Desmarquest, Director de Exportación, at La Rioja Alta S.A. commented: “We are thrilled to announce our global partnership with both Hallgarten & Novum Wines and Coterie Holdings, marking an essential new chapter for La Rioja Alta, S.A. This strategic partnership will continue to reinforce our distribution in the United Kingdom, making our brands available to a broader audience and further cementing our position as a leader in the premium Spanish category.”
Hallgarten Wines Portfolio Director, Jim Wilson, commented: “La Rioja Alta, S.A. is one of the most widely recognised wine brands in the world and an undisputed heavyweight in the Rioja region. We are extremely proud to represent their entire portfolio of wines and share them with the UK’s retail sector, in addition to the hospitality industry.
“Over the last 18 months, the Hallgarten team has relished getting to grips with the range of wines from La Rioja Alta, S.A., distributing them across the UK’s hospitality sector, and we are excited to maximise the opportunity we have. This step marks a pivotal moment in Hallgarten’s year of growth, as we look to drive the business forward in 2024.”
Combining tradition and state-of-the-art technology, La Rioja Alta, S.A. is an iconic, world-class producer of classically styled Reserva and Gran Reserva wines which undergo considerable cask-ageing in order to achieve the elegant style they have become known for. La Rioja Alta, S.A. was founded in 1890, in the old railway quarter of Haro, by five families including the Aranas, the Ardanzas and the Alberdis - their names are now celebrated on each of the Reserva wines. The company gradually expanded, and in 1996 a new purpose-built winery in Labastida was completed, focussing on improving quality and enabling the purest expressions of fruit to be showcased in the wines.
Oak is at the heart of the ageing process, and La Rioja Alta, S.A. boasts its own in-house coopers who use artisanal methods to produce their own barrels from wood imported from the US and air-dried on site in Haro. Traditional manual racking takes place by candlelight every six months, and the vines are sustainably farmed.
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*2024, The World’s Most Admired Brands, Drinks International:
