Collection: Selección Especial: only the second since 2001. Under £20 a bottle

La Rioja Alta's Selección Especial designation has been used twice in the last twenty years. The first was the legendary 2001. The second is the 2021, just released — and when we saw the price we had to check it twice. £118.80 inc VAT for a case of six?

94 points from Gutiérrez at the Wine Advocate? That's just over £13 a bottle in bond for a wine he calls "without a doubt, the finest Alberdi I can remember."

This is 100% estate-grown Tempranillo from five of La Rioja Alta's finest vineyards, aged for two years in American oak from the estate's own cooperage. The 2021 vintage in Rioja was exceptional - long summer days and cool nights allowed for gradual, even ripening. Rarely can wines under £20 a bottle pack so much interesting and complex flavour; notes of leather and cacao envelop a core of striking red and black fruit, with a classical Rioja structure that will age effortlessly and a drinking window to match.

At this price, we'd buy several cases without hesitation. Actually, most of the team already have.

Est. delivery in July, 2026.