Spain · Rioja

Viña Ijalba

A Rioja producer that turned depleted gravel quarries into vineyards and makes dry, single-variety whites from Tempranillo Blanco and Maturana Blanca.

The producer

Viña Ijalba is based in Logroño, with roughly 85–90 hectares of vineyards around Logroño, San Vicente de la Sonsierra and the Najerilla Valley. Dionisio Ruiz Ijalba converted depleted aggregate quarries into vineyard land, and the estate still works reclaimed open-cast sites. That land history sits beside a long-running commitment to lesser-seen Rioja grapes, including Maturana Blanca, Maturana Tinta and Turruntés, as well as Rioja’s first 100% Graciano in the 1990s.

Its clearest bottles are dry whites from named 500-metre sites in Villamediana de Iregua. Tempranillo Blanco, from laderas costanazo, is mostly fermented in concrete with a small American-oak share and three months on fine lees, bringing pineapple, citrus, light toast and a tart citrus finish. Maturana Blanca, from La Sacristana, spends four months on fine lees after mostly concrete fermentation; fresh tropical fruit, a mineral note, silky texture and refreshing acidity make its shape more textural.

Known for

Reclaimed-quarry vineyards and dry Rioja whites from Tempranillo Blanco and Maturana Blanca.

Notable facts

The story

From Gravel To Vines

Dionisio Ruiz Ijalba worked in aggregate extraction, so he knew this ground first as a source of gravel. As the old quarries were depleted, he converted them into vineyards. The change was physical: former open-cast extraction sites were planted with vines, and Rioja’s regional directory still describes Viña Ijalba’s vineyards as standing over obsolete mines as part of environmental restoration. The estate’s holdings now extend around Logroño, San Vicente de la Sonsierra and the Najerilla Valley, while the winery remains at Carretera de Pamplona Km 1 in Logroño.

From the atlas

Viña Ijalba

At A Glance

Viña Ijalba is a Rioja producer based in Logroño whose vineyards include restored former quarry land. Its most distinctive documented bottles are dry whites made from Tempranillo Blanco and Maturana Blanca: two grapes that shift attention away from the familiar Tempranillo-led red image of Rioja.

The estate works across roughly 85–90 hectares around Logroño, San Vicente de la Sonsierra and the Najerilla Valley. For the whites, named 500-metre sites in Villamediana de Iregua and fermentation in concrete shape wines with fresh fruit, acidity and lees-derived texture.

The Producer

The winery stands at Carretera de Pamplona Km 1 in Logroño, while Viña Ijalba’s vineyards reach into several Rioja areas. Dionisio Ruiz Ijalba’s conversion of exhausted aggregate quarries into vines remains the estate’s physical foundation; the bottle range extends that independent streak through recovered native varieties and a 100% Graciano released in the 1990s.

Its current white-wine specifications make the approach tangible. Tempranillo Blanco and Maturana Blanca are each bottled as single-variety wines, so the grape and its particular Villamediana de Iregua site remain visible rather than disappearing into a blend.

Place

Logroño is the winery base, but the estate’s holdings are spread around Logroño, San Vicente de la Sonsierra and the Najerilla Valley. Rioja on the bottle locates the producer in the region; the two whites narrow the picture further through Villamediana de Iregua, where both documented parcels sit at 500 metres.

That elevation is part of the practical frame for Ijalba Tempranillo Blanco from laderas costanazo and Ijalba Maturana Blanca from La Sacristana. The named sites distinguish two dry white wines made in the same broader region but from different grapes and parcels.

Soil And Site

Viña Ijalba’s defining ground is not a picturesque vineyard inheritance but land reclaimed from obsolete open-cast mines. Dionisio Ruiz Ijalba converted depleted aggregate quarries into vineyard sites, making restoration part of the estate’s farming landscape rather than a label ornament.

For the two whites, the documented site detail is concrete: laderas costanazo for Tempranillo Blanco and La Sacristana for Maturana Blanca, both at 500 metres in Villamediana de Iregua. The result is a range where grape and named vineyard work together to separate one white from another.

Story

The estate’s story moves from gravel extraction to grape recovery. Alongside the reclaimed quarry vineyards, Viña Ijalba helped revive Maturana Blanca, Maturana Tinta and Turruntés, varieties that had become scarce in Rioja. That work widened the grape material available to the cellar and put Maturana Blanca into a focused single-variety bottle.

In the 1990s, Viña Ijalba also launched Rioja’s first wine made entirely from Graciano. The decision matters beside its white wines because it establishes a pattern: the producer does not rely solely on Tempranillo when another Rioja grape can carry a complete wine.

Vineyards And Cellar

The estate applies organic production principles throughout its process and reports that 70% of the harvest is picked by hand, with rigorous vineyard selection, while 30% is mechanical. That combination puts selection at the vine stage while allowing a sizeable estate to work vineyards across several locations.

The 1991 winery has a 1.25-million-litre winemaking bay with stainless-steel tanks and French-oak vats, plus an underground, climate-controlled barrel hall containing 1,500 French- and American-oak barrels. The white-wine details are more specific: Tempranillo Blanco ferments mostly in concrete with a small American-oak portion, while Maturana Blanca uses mostly concrete with a smaller share in 500-litre French-oak bocoy barrels.

Both whites begin with cold maceration and pressing, then rest on fine lees. Tempranillo Blanco receives ten hours of cold maceration and three months on lees; Maturana Blanca receives four hours and four months, giving each bottle its own balance of fruit, texture and oak detail.

Wines

The documented range is organised around grape character rather than one standard house blend. Ijalba Tempranillo Blanco is 100% Tempranillo Blanco from laderas costanazo: 85% concrete fermentation, 15% American oak and three months on fine lees. Its dry, medium-bodied shape carries tropical fruit, citrus and a lightly toasted note, ending on tart citrus acidity.

Ijalba Maturana Blanca is 100% Maturana Blanca from La Sacristana. Four months on fine lees follow fermentation split 90% in concrete and 10% in French-oak bocoy, producing a white described with fresh tropical fruit, a mineral background, silky texture, refreshing acidity and a persistent finish.

The historical range also includes native-variety work with Maturana Tinta and Turruntés, and the 100% Graciano release. Those wines show the breadth of Ijalba’s grape programme; the two whites provide the clearest current technical detail.

In The Glass

Tempranillo Blanco opens in a tropical register: banana and pineapple meet citrus, with toasted notes around the fruit. On the palate it is dry and medium-bodied, with medium acidity rather than a heavy oak frame; the tart citrus finish keeps the fruit bright after the lees-aged mid-palate.

Maturana Blanca moves differently. Fresh tropical fruit sits over a mineral note, then the four months on fine lees show as a silkier texture. Its acidity is refreshing and the finish persists, making it the more textural of the two documented whites without losing dry, clean shape.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Ijalba Tempranillo Blanco. The 2022 wine is listed in Sweden, and the current producer specification gives a clear view of the wine’s construction: 100% Tempranillo Blanco from the 500-metre laderas costanazo vineyard, mostly fermented in concrete, with a small American-oak share and three months on fine lees.

In the glass, expect dry, medium-bodied white wine with pineapple, citrus, tropical fruit and a touch of toast, carried by medium acidity into a tart citrus finish. It is the most direct way into Ijalba’s willingness to let a Rioja white grape stand on its own.

Anecdote

Dionisio Ruiz Ijalba worked in aggregate extraction, so he knew the estate’s ground first as a source of gravel. As the old quarries became depleted, he decided to convert them into vineyards. The change was not a metaphor: the open-cast sites were planted with vines, and the Rioja directory still describes Viña Ijalba’s vineyards as standing over obsolete mines as part of environmental restoration. Today the estate’s holdings extend across the areas around Logroño, San Vicente de la Sonsierra and the Najerilla Valley, while the winery itself remains at Carretera de Pamplona Km 1 in Logroño.

Final Word

Viña Ijalba offers a different Rioja starting point: reclaimed vineyard land, native grapes and dry whites whose concrete fermentation, lees ageing and modest oak use can be tasted in their fruit, texture and finish.

Sources

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