It’s a wine-world truism that it’s easy to make good wine in great years, but it's when nature proves less amenable that you find out how good a winery, its vineyards and its winemaking team really are.
And 2024 was a year where the expertise of Bodegas LAN, and the superlative quality of its vineyards, really came to
the fore.
The biggest challenge for la vendimia ’24 was rain towards the end of the growing season. This was a particular problem for later-ripening varieties, and in some vineyards the humidity gave growers problems with botrytis.
But through a combination of good fortune (having great vineyards) and good judgement (experienced teams making great decisions), Bodegas LAN managed to maximise the potential of a challenging year.
In partnership with BODEGAS LAN
This is particularly true of Viña Lanciano. The jewel in Bodegas LAN’s viticultural crown, it is a uniquely beautiful vineyard. Its 72 hectares are located in a meandering bend of the Río Ebro, meaning it is surrounded by water on three sides.
Lanciano’s terroir is alluvial pebbles, deposited there by river floods over thousands of years. The vines must push their roots deep into the free-draining, stony soil to survive – which brings a distinctive mineral flicker to the wines.
Sheltered by the Sierra Cantabrica mountain range to the north and by Mount El Rincon on its southern edge, Lanciano is a vineyard where the classic grapes of Rioja – Tempranillo, Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnacha – ripen easily, steadily and regularly, whatever the vintage.
Vintage tales
Exploring the 2024 Rioja harvest
with Bodegas LAN
Viña Lanciano
C
elebrated Rioja producer Bodegas LAN shares the story of its 2024 vintage, with a focus on a particularly special vineyard site: Viña Lanciano.
This magnificent U-shaped tongue of land has proved over many generations that it is an exceptional place to grow grapes, and the estate’s extraordinary pedigree shone through once more in 2024.
Lanciano’s pebbly soil and favourable aspect (north to south orientation with north-east to south-west inclination) mean that grapes here tend to ripen early – the vineyard is Zone III on the Winkler scale. As a result, the 2024 harvest started in the first week of September, before the worst rains affected the region.
An exceptional place to grow grapes
Chief winemaker María Barúa, who has been with Bodegas LAN for over 20 years, says she saw good balance in the early parts of the harvest. Crucially, the cooler weather particularly meant there was no drop-off in acidity, which has been an increasing challenge with the growing number of hot, dry vintages in the region.
Exploring the 2024 vintage
It will take years for the 2024 wines to be ready, but here are some top-quality bottles to try while you wait.
Three to look for
Bodegas LAN, Viña Lanciano, Reserva,
Rioja 2019
89% Tempranillo from an excellent vintage. Red fruit, floral hints, violets and spice.
Great with stews or spicy meat. Silver medal winner with 91 points at DWWA 2024.
Bodegas LAN, A Mano Edición Limitada, Rioja 2021
A dry year resulted in lots of concentration in this highly crafted wine. Black fruit, cloves and toast from 13 months in oak, and characteristic Lanciano vineyard minerality. Silver medal winner with 94 points at DWWA 2024.
Bodegas LAN, Culmen, Reserva, Rioja 2019
From the best plots and oldest bush vines in Lanciano, and made only in the best years. Extended barrel and bottle ageing have created a multi-layered wine with supple blue fruit, forest floor and floral and spice flavours. Platinum medal winner with 97 points at DWWA 2024.
bodegaslan.com
The Garnacha is fresh and fruity, and Graciano and Mazuelo have excellent varietal character. Tempranillo from Bodegas LAN’s own vineyards arrived ‘in fabulous condition’, according to Barúa. Rigorous double-sorting – first by bunch and then by berry – on winery sorting tables ensured that the crop from their partner vinegrowers also came up to scratch.
In short, this was a challenging, labour-intensive vintage that required all of the winery’s expertise to ensure that their well-known quality levels were maintained. Bodegas LAN’s wines regularly score in the mid- to high-90s in Decanter, and thanks to the expertise of the team in Fuenmayor, we can expect that success story to continue.
2024 is likely to be a vintage of slightly lower alcohol, lighter colour and lower pH
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In partnership with BODEGAS LAN
It’s a wine-world truism that it’s easy to make good wine in great years, but it's when nature proves less amenable that you find out how good a winery, its vineyards and its winemaking team really are.
And 2024 was a year where the expertise of Bodegas LAN, and the superlative quality of its vineyards, really came to
the fore.
The biggest challenge for la vendimia ’24 was rain towards the end of the growing season. This was a particular problem for later-ripening varieties, and in some vineyards the humidity gave growers problems with botrytis.
But through a combination of good fortune (having great vineyards) and good judgement (experienced teams making great decisions), Bodegas LAN managed to maximise the potential of a challenging year.
This is particularly true of Viña Lanciano. The jewel in Bodegas LAN’s viticultural crown, it is a uniquely beautiful vineyard. Its 72 hectares are located in a meandering bend of the Río Ebro, meaning it is surrounded by water on three sides.
Lanciano’s terroir is alluvial pebbles, deposited there by river floods over thousands of years. The vines must push their roots deep into the free-draining, stony soil to survive – which brings a distinctive mineral flicker to the wines.
Sheltered by the Sierra Cantabrica mountain range to the north and by Mount El Rincon on its southern edge, Lanciano is a vineyard where the classic grapes of Rioja – Tempranillo, Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnacha – ripen easily, steadily and regularly, whatever the vintage.
Viña Lanciano
