The mofo guide to | La Rioja
Known for its beautiful landscape and mediaeval architecture, La Rioja is most famous for its world-class red wines, specifically, tempranillo. To most wine lovers, La Rioja is the beating heart of Spanish vino and here's why…
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The basics
Sitting in the north-east of Spain, La Rioja has a continental climate and is protected by the Sierra de Cantabria mountain range from the cool weather off the Atlantic. From the late-1800s, which saw the introduction of oak barrels, La Rioja has had a unique approach to wines based on in-winery ageing and classification. The superstar grape of the region is tempranillo, which is often blended with garnacha, graciano and manzuelo (carignan). The combination of tempranillo’s power and the winemaking involved creates wines that are bold and complex. From a juicy “vino cosechero” often from the village of Lanziego (released with no age at all) to a brooding, savoury and developed Gran Reservas - there's an impressive spectrum of red wines from La Rioja. As for whites, it ranges from fresh and fruity to barrel-aged on lees, though production is much smaller with 85% of production being red.
Check out: Burgo Viejo Rioja Crianza 2019
Subregions
There are three subregions of Rioja: Alta, Baja and Alavesa. Since you may not see these names on the label, it pays to know quality producers and standout years. Most premium producers hail from Rioja Alta and Alavesa, whereas Rioja Baja has the more commercial wineries producing bigger wines in the warmer climate.
What to look for on the label
Best to leave the T&Cs to the experts, so here are the categories of Rioja, according the to Consejo Regulador:
Young wines: Aka "joven", this category guarantees the origin and vintage of the wine. They are usually wines in their first or second year which preserve their fresh, fruity, primary characteristics. This category may also include other wines which do not fit into the categories of Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva, even though they have undergone ageing processes, it's a consequence of them not being certified by the Control Board.
Check out: Bodegas Altanza Capitoso Rioja 2020
Crianza wines: Wines which are at least in their third year, having spent a minimum of one year in casks. For white wines, the minimum cask ageing period is 6 months.
Check out: Burgo Viejo Rioja Crianza 2019
Reserva wines: Selected wines of the best vintages with an excellent potential that have been aged for a minimum of 3 years, with at least 1 year in casks and at least 6 months in bottle. For white wines, the minimum ageing period is 2 years, with at least 6 months in casks.
Check out: Bodegas Olarra Clásico Reserva 2018
Gran Reserva wines: Selected wines from exceptional vintages where the minimum ageing period is 60 months: at least 2 years in oak casks and 2 years in the bottle. For white wines, the minimum ageing period is 4 years, with at least 1 year in casks.
Check out: Bodegas Olarra Cerro Añón Gran Reserva 2016
This system of classification (based on keeping wine in barrel and bottle) means that the winery is doing all the hard work of the ageing/cellaring on your behalf - meaning the wines should be ready to drink upon release. The other advantage of these classifications is they should indicate whether the wine is more fruit-forward (young wines, Crianza) or moving into more tertiary characteristics that come with age (Reserva, Gran Reserva).
A (welcomed) recent exception to these categories are single vineyard wines (vino de pueblo/parcela/pago), which don’t carry age-based classification, simply the name of the town/vineyard. These wines aim to be site-expressive, rather than an expression of age and winemaking which the classic Rioja system promotes. The term “cosechero”(which is synonymous with the town of Lanziego) could be best described as garage wines, small in scale (although we are talking tonnes, not kilos) and the wines are released locally with no age at all. Definitely something to look out for if you ever visit!
So, now that you’re (in theory) a Rioja expert, it's time to get practical. Get started with our Spanish wines on site.