Six of our wines have received awards in the latest edition of the Rioja Alavesa Harvest Festival, one of the most important competitions in the Qualified Designation of Origin Rioja (DOCa Rioja). Since 2015, our winery has harvested more than twenty awards, placing us as one of the most recognized in Rioja at this contest.
One of Rioja’s most prestigious wine competitions
The prestige of this competition lies in its long history (since 1994), the fact that it encompasses the three sub-zones of the designation (Rioja Oriental, Rioja Alta, and Rioja Alavesa), the high standard of the participants, and its blind tasting format. In other words, jury members do not know the brand of the wine they are tasting and scoring. In the words of Juan Valdelana: “There is no greater pride for us than seeing our wines emerge victorious in blind tasting competitions, where quality and craftsmanship stand out above all else.”
Our Singular Wines sweep the 2026 edition
Among the 176 wines entered into the 33rd edition of the Rioja Alavesa Harvest Festival competition, six of our wines received awards: gold medals for Familia Valdelana Reserva, Finca La Medika, and Finca La Pared de los Curas, silver for Finca Santa Cruz de Valdelana and Finca Tronco Negro, and a bronze medal for Finca Senda de las Damas. In other words, out of the six award winners, five come from our singular vineyards, one of the projects in which we have invested the most energy and devotion in recent years; therefore, it could be said that our joy has been even greater. This year the gala was held in Arkabia (Vitoria-Gasteiz).
Two of our wines reach the podium at the 32nd edition of the Harvest Awards
The 32nd edition of the Rioja Alavesa Harvest Festival Competition was held “at home”, in Elciego, and although 240 wines were entered, we were fortunate to step onto the podium with our Familia Valdelana Rosé and Reserva.
We also received six awards at the Rioja Alavesa Harvest Festival in 2024
The town of Samaniego hosted the 31st DOCa Rioja Wine Competition, an event that, once again, recognized the quality of our wines. On this occasion, six of our wines received awards. The highest distinction came in the “White Wines from Singular Vineyards” category, where Pared de los Curas and Tronco Negro achieved first and second place, while Santa Cruz and Senda Las Damas were second and third among the best “Red Wines from Singular Vineyards”. Meanwhile, our Juan Valdelana wine reached second place in the “Great Wines – Signature Wines” category, and our iconic Barón Ladrón de Guevara was named the third best “Red Crianza”.
Our whites, the big winners of the 2023 edition
In the 30th edition of the competition held in Laguardia, our white wines Ladrón de Guevara and Familia Valdelana were recognized, respectively, as the best and second-best white wine in the Rioja Designation of Origin.
Familia Valdelana was named Best Young White Wine of DOCa Rioja 2022
In 2022, the town of Lanciego hosted the 27th Rioja Alavesa Harvest Festival, an edition that recognized our Familia Valdelana as the best white wine in DOCa Rioja and our Agnvs de Autor as the second-best barrel-fermented white wine.
Our white wines were also awarded in this competition in 2020
During the pandemic year, our white wines were also honored. In this case, Familia Valdelana was once again recognized as the best young white wine in the designation, and Agnvs Malvasía as the best barrel-aged white wine. Having our white wines recognized over so many years is a true source of pride for our winery where, since 2015, we have made a firm commitment to producing high-quality whites.
Agnvs and Ladrón de Guevara de Autor, Best Crianza Wines in 2019
In 2019 the glory went to our Crianza wines: at the 26th edition of the festival held in Baños de Ebro, Agnvs and Ladrón de Guevara de Autor were named the best and second-best Crianza wines in DOCa Rioja among more than 300 entries.
In 2018 it was the turn of our Agnvs de Autor
In 2018, our Agnvs de Autor earned the medal for best singular wine in Rioja at the competition held that year in Elvillar.
First awards at the 2015 Rioja Alavesa Harvest Festival
Our love affair with the Rioja Alavesa Harvest Festival wine competition began in 2015, during another gala hosted in Elciego, where two of our wines were awarded among over 200 contenders: our Avior wine was awarded the gold medal for Best Young Red Rioja, while Palador Crianza took home the silver medal for Best Singular Wine.
Juan Valdelana, the key figure behind these distinctions
Our wines’ ongoing success at this competition over so many years is the result of great teamwork—a milestone shared by all the generations that came before us. However, we must highlight that the vast majority of the awarded wines today bear the signature of Juan Valdelana, who has been connected to the wine world from a very young age. Juan Valdelana graduated with a degree in Oenology from the University of La Rioja (2017), winning the award for best final degree project, which allowed him to work for several months at the Regulatory Council and immerse himself in the roots of DOCa Rioja. He later earned a degree in Agricultural Engineering, providing him with comprehensive knowledge across all areas of winemaking. Furthermore, he has had the opportunity to work at wineries across Spain and around the globe (Tenerife, Rías Baixas, Napa Valley…), allowing him to explore new perspectives on winemaking.
We have enjoyed many years of great moments at the Rioja Alavesa Harvest Festival, and our energy and enthusiasm remain as strong as ever to continue crafting exceptional wines in the future. Thank you all for your constant support.
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