The 1996 Vino Alberdi is about as close as La Rioja Alta comes to making any concession to modern day tastes. It exhibits sweet toasty oak, round, candied cherry/berry fruit, a soft texture, fine elegance, and a medium-bodied, supple finish. Drink it over the next 4-5 years. Importer: A Christopher Cannan Selection, various American importers including Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300 and Diamond Wine Merchants, Oakland, CA; tel. (510) 567-9897

Readers looking for deeply pigmented, dark purple-colored wines will be disappointed by the light, evolved colors from this bodega, but there is considerable complexity, elegance, and flavor authority to these wines. The 1995 Alberdi is a light ruby-colored wine with sweet berry/strawberry notes infused with plenty of toasty American oak. Medium-bodied, with a lush, supple texture, this generously-endowed, complex, mature Rioja should be drunk over the next 3-4 years. A Christopher Cannan Selection, imported by Europvin USA, Watertown, MA; tel. (617) 924-7620

The 1994 Vina Alberdi is a medium ruby-colored, sweet, smoky, complex wine with copious quantities of vanillin, strawberry, raspberry fruit in both its aromas and flavors. A graceful, stylish, expansively-flavored wine, it is lusciously fruity, elegant, and satisfying. It should drink well for 4-5 years.Importer: A Christopher Cannan Selection, Europvin USA, Watertown, MA; tel. (617) 924-7620

Even the younger wines from this bodega, such as the 1991 Vina Alberdi, display plenty of complexity in their bouquets. The medium ruby-colored 1991 Vina Alberdi exhibits some amber at the edge, as well as a sweet, curranty, tobacco-scented nose, and smoky, silky-textured, medium-bodied flavors with some American oak in evidence. It is a seductive, mid-weight Rioja for drinking over the next 3-4 years. The traditionally made Spanish wines from this bodega are successful. However, readers looking for more internationally-styled Spanish reds that have saturated ruby/purple colors, and grapy personalities are advised that this bodega emphasizes the more mature, aged character of Spanish Rioja, with mature garnet colors with rust at the edge, and fragrant, intense, evolved aromatic profiles.Importer: A Christopher Cannan Selection, Europvin USA, Watertown, MA; tel. (617) 924-7620

The 1989 Vina Alberdi Reserva reveals elegant, vanillin, berry scents, lovely, rich, medium-bodied flavors, and a soft, plush finish that lingers on the palate. It is one of the softest, most finesse-filled wines in the Rioja Alta portfolio. It should be drunk over the next 5-7 years.Eschewing the modern style of Rioja that is bottled after several years of aging in American oak casks, Rioja Alta remains one of the few Spanish bodegas dedicated to making traditionally-styled Riojas. While I do not want to denigrate the modern style, there is a lot to be said for wines such as these. They are released when fully mature, yet they hold for a considerable amount of time. The five offerings described in this issue all demonstrate impeccable winemaking. They possess plenty of sweet, vanillin, smoky new oak, as well as wonderfully ripe, succulent textures. Importer: Europvin USA, Watertown, MA.