This month at BACO, we're exploring a project where wine is born from the balance between tradition, precision, and family work: Bodegas Altún.
Led by brothers Alberto and Iker, Altún is a winery that has evolved from its roots in Rioja to an understanding of wine more closely tied to the vineyard, the origin, and the expression of each plot.
Their philosophy is clear: listen to the vine, intervene only when necessary, and craft wines that faithfully reflect the landscape from which they originate. Elegant, fresh wines with a very defined identity, where precision in their work makes all the difference.
We spoke with them to learn more about their history, how they work the vineyard, and what's behind one of the most interesting projects in current-day Rioja.
Origins and team: How did the winery come about, and how do Alberto and Iker divide the work?
Altún was founded in 1989 by our father, Josean, who made the brave decision to start bottling under his own brand the wine that, until then, had been produced and sold in bulk.
Today, my brother Iker and I, both oenologists, wanted to take it a step further. We decided to give the project an approach deeply linked to our land, highlighting the unique vineyards we have through our current range of village and single-plot wines.
Regarding the work, we both contribute our character to the entire range, although we divide areas to be more efficient. Iker is more focused on the winery, while I am more involved in the field and in commercialization, especially exports, thanks to English. Even so, as in any family project, in the end, we both end up doing a bit of everything.
We believe that this is where the beauty of our daily life lies: one moment we are in the vineyard, and the next we are on the other side of the world promoting our project.
Vineyard Philosophy: The Value of Uniqueness
We undoubtedly aim to highlight those vineyards that we consider unique. In a market that in recent years has tended towards homogenization—due to the use of clones or commercial yeasts—we believe that the real challenge is to use technical knowledge to protect our own identity.
Making wines linked to their origin is what defines us. We want that when we talk about a wine from Laguardia, you can feel its freshness, its tension, and the altitude that the colder climate gives us. Or that, when tasting La Cicatera (our Grenache from Baños de Ebro), whoever drinks that glass can be transported directly from their home to the origin of that grape.
The "Altún Style": Balance and Honesty
For me, the Altún style can be summarized in two words: balance and identity. We believe that if you achieve a balanced production, the identity of the place emerges naturally.
We do not seek a particular production style; the goal is that the technique does not overshadow the landscape, but rather allows the wine to tell where it comes from in the most honest way possible.
Recommendation: Tradition and Innovation
In a range as diverse as ours, it's difficult to choose, but I would like to highlight two wines that represent our philosophy of respecting tradition while constantly innovating:
• Altún Colección de Parcelas: this is pure tradition. It combines three of the four villages where we have vineyards and is a magnificent representation of our area and our fieldwork.
• La Cicatera: represents our more disruptive side. It's an open-cap Grenache that, when we started producing it as a single-varietal and single-plot wine, could raise doubts because it was so different from the "usual," but time has proven us right, and today people love it. It reflects our constant learning.
Future: A Family and Team Project
More than anything specific, what excites us is the overall direction of the project. It motivates us to wake up every day eager to improve and learn, and that's possible because we have formed a "family" of incredible professionals in the winery who make everything easier.
With a presence in 20 countries, our goal now is for Altún to continue growing in value, becoming a benchmark among wine lovers. We are excited to think that wherever a good glass is appreciated, our bottle will be present, humbly and proudly sharing the work we do in Baños de Ebro.
Altún represents a way of understanding wine where balance is everything: between tradition and evolution, between vineyard and winery, between technique and sensitivity.
A family project that demonstrates that precision and respect for the origin can go hand in hand to create wines with identity, elegance, and longevity.
🍷 You can discover their wines in our physical store and on our website.
🎧 And if you want to learn their story firsthand, don't miss the new episode of Momentos DiVinos on Spotify.
You can follow Altún's news on their Instagram account.
See you at BACO, glass in hand. And if it's Altún, even better.
