Roda was founded in 1987 by drinks distributors Mario Rotllant and Carmen Daurell, after a long search for the ideal base for their winemaking project. They eventually settled in the Rioja Alta region. They located their winery in the historic Haro Station District, and it soon made an impact with modern-style wines. The focus was on old vines, especially those cultivated as bush vines. Roda also differentiated between wines with a predominantly red-fruit character – labelled simply as Roda – and those with more balsamic black-fruit character, which were released as Roda I. This is a stylistic choice on the part of the winery, the goal being to create two different interpretations of Rioja.

A brooding black-fruited expression of Tempranillo, Roda 1 Reserva is made entirely from Tempranillo, sourced from old vines in excess of 30 years of average age. The wine is matured in 50% new and 50% one-year-old French oak for 16 months.