Rioja: The Region That Rewards the Curious

Rioja is the Spanish wine region most American drinkers have heard of, and it is also the one most American drinkers think they already understand. That is the problem. The Rioja of the past two decades is a much more interesting place than its reputation suggests, and the gap between what is happening in the region today and what most retail shelves carry is one of the wider quality gaps in European wine.

Why Rioja Still Matters

Rioja has been making wine for over a thousand years, and for much of the twentieth century it was the only Spanish wine most people outside Spain could name. That kind of dominance can breed complacency, and for a while it did. The region coasted on a formula: American oak, extended ageing, soft vanilla-scented reds that were pleasant but predictable. Then, starting in the late 1990s, a new generation of winemakers began pushing back. They wanted to make wines that tasted of where they came from, not of the barrel they sat in. The result is a region in the middle of one of the most interesting transformations in European wine, and the quality at every price point is remarkable.

The region stretches across three sub-zones along the Ebro river in northern Spain. Rioja Alta, at higher elevation in the west, produces wines with bright acidity and real structure. Rioja Alavesa, tucked into the Basque Country on chalky clay soils, tends toward elegance and perfume. Rioja Oriental (formerly Rioja Baja), lower and warmer to the east, gives riper, more powerful fruit. For decades these distinctions were blurred by blending across zones, but since 2017 the Consejo Regulador has recognised single-vineyard and village-level wines, a change that is quietly reshaping what Rioja means on a label.

The Grapes

Tempranillo is the backbone, accounting for roughly 80% of red plantings, and in Rioja it reaches a balance of fruit, acidity and tannin that few other regions can match. The name comes from temprano, meaning "early," because it ripens ahead of most Spanish varieties. At its best it has a savoury, leathery complexity layered over dark cherry and plum fruit. Garnacha (Grenache to the French) plays a crucial supporting role, particularly in Rioja Oriental, adding warmth and a juicy generosity. You will also find Graciano, which contributes deep colour and a floral, almost violet-scented lift, and Mazuelo (Cariñena), used sparingly for acidity and structure. The whites, historically an afterthought, are having their own quiet revolution. Viura remains the workhorse, but plantings of Tempranillo Blanco, Garnacha Blanca and Maturana Blanca are producing some genuinely compelling white wines that deserve far more attention than they get.

Old Guard, New Thinking

The traditional classification still holds: Joven (young, little or no oak), Crianza (one year in barrel, one in bottle), Reserva (one year in barrel, two in bottle), and Gran Reserva (two years in barrel, three in bottle). These are minimum requirements, and many producers age well beyond them. The newer classifications, Viñedo Singular (single vineyard) and Vino de Zona (village wine), sit alongside rather than replacing the old system. What this means in practice is that you can now find a Rioja labelled with a specific village or vineyard name, much as you would in Burgundy, and the wines coming out of this movement are some of the most exciting in Spain.

López de Heredia remains the touchstone for traditional Rioja. Their Viña Tondonia Reserva ($30-40) is aged for six years before release, and it tastes like no other wine on earth: dried roses, leather, sweet spice, with an oxidative edge that polarises opinion. It is the wine equivalent of a well-worn leather armchair. For something that bridges old and new, La Rioja Alta's Viña Ardanza Reserva ($22-28) offers extraordinary value: silky red fruit, gentle oak, the sort of bottle that does as well on a Tuesday as on a Saturday.

On the modern side, Artadi left the DOCa entirely in 2015 to pursue single-vineyard wines without the constraints of the classification system. Their Viñas de Gain ($20-25) is Tempranillo with minimal oak influence, all bright cherry and garrigue. At the higher end, Artadi's El Carretil ($90-120) from 70-year-old vines is a wine of extraordinary depth and precision, worth the outlay if you want to understand what Rioja can be when treated with the same seriousness as a classified Bordeaux.

For everyday drinking, Muga's Reserva ($18-22) is hard to beat. It is made entirely in oak, including fermentation, which gives it a richness and texture that belies its modest price.

What to Drink Now

If you are new to Rioja, start with a Crianza in the $12-18 range. Bodegas LAN's Crianza ($12-14) is clean, bright and unshowy, exactly the sort of wine you want with roast chicken or a simple pasta. From there, move to a Reserva. The jump in complexity is significant but the price increase is modest, which is one of the great joys of this region. A $25 Rioja Reserva competes comfortably with wines costing twice that from Bordeaux or Napa. When you are ready for something that will change how you think about Spanish wine, find a bottle of Contador by Benjamín Romeo ($150-200). It is made in tiny quantities from old Tempranillo vines in the village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra, and it was the first Spanish wine outside Vega Sicilia to receive 100 points from Robert Parker. Whether you care about scores or not, the wine itself is astonishing.

The whites should not be overlooked. López de Heredia's Viña Gravonia Crianza ($20-25) is a white Rioja aged for four years before release, golden and nutty with a texture like raw silk. It is completely unlike any Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc you have tasted, and that is precisely the point.

Rioja and Food

This is a region built around the table. The classic pairing is lamb, and in the Rioja Alavesa village kitchens the lamb chops are grilled over vine cuttings, which remains one of the great regional matches. Rioja is more versatile than it gets credit for, though. A young Crianza works beautifully with grilled vegetables and manchego. Reserva and Gran Reserva, with their softer tannins and savoury complexity, are natural partners for roast pork, game birds, and hard aged cheeses. White Rioja, particularly the barrel-fermented styles, stands up to richer fish dishes and creamy risottos, and the oxidative whites from López de Heredia are an underrated match for roast turkey and other holiday birds.

The region is also spectacularly beautiful and increasingly well set up for wine tourism. The Marqués de Riscal hotel, designed by Frank Gehry, is the one everyone photographs, but the real pleasure is in the smaller bodegas where the winemaker pours from barrel and you leave with a case in the boot of the car.

We source wines from across Europe and California, and Rioja is one of the regions we return to most often. The combination of quality, value and sheer drinkability is hard to match anywhere in the world. If you have not explored it recently, or if your experience has been limited to the soft, oaky style of twenty years ago, the region has moved on considerably. Drop us an email or give us a call and we would love to talk you through what is worth drinking right now.

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