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Finca Allende
The inspiration of Miguel Angel de Gregorio, Finca Allende was founded in 1986 [although the winery wasn't built until 1995], in Briones, an old village perched on an 80 metre high hill in the north-west of La Rioja Alta, on the right bank of the Ebro River. The Allende headquarters are in the Ibarra Palace, a magnificent old mansion built in 1675. Miguel got his love of wine from his father, who moved the family from La Mancha to Rioja to work in a winery. Miguel took charge of a bodega in Logroño when he was just 25 years old, but he had a desire to do things differently. He was one of a generation of young winemakers who broke away from the old orthodox traditions of Rioja to forge a modernist movement proving that there were other ways of doing things, and this revolutionised the world of Rioja. Miguel also has strong philanthropical values and participates in a wide range of projects aimed at helping some of the most disadvantaged groups in society. “Allende” roughly means “further” in Spanish, and Miguel's ideology is to go further and further, pushing to create the perfect terroir-driven Rioja. Allende have their own sustainably and organically farmed vineyards, supplemented with contract fruit from other Briones growers. Miguel has taken time to interpret each vineyard to unlock the potential of each individual site. Allende's own three vineyards are divided up into many different plots. The Martires Vineyard was planted in 1970 at 535 metres above sea level on minerally clayey soil. El Calvario was planted in 1945 on gravelly stony soils. The Aurus Vineyard has vines with an average age of 60 years planted on clayey soils with deep-lying gravel. Tempranillo is the predominant grape variety, but Graciano, Garnacha, Malvasia and Viura also feature. The grapes are all hand picked and mostly French oak is used. The wines have magical personalities which focus on the unique terroir of Rioja Alta – this is the Allende style!