Rioja

Rioja wines are made on the east side of the Sierra Cantabria Mountains in the province of Rioja. The region takes its name from one of the several rivers in the region, the Rio Oja which courses through the center of the region. Grapes grow on both sides of the river, Tempranillo most popularly, but also Mazuelo, Garnacha, and Graciano, some of which are typically blended into red Rioja wines.

This wine-growing region is generally warm and Rioja has no problem achieving ripe, red cherry flavors. From there, the taste of Rioja largely depends on how it's made. Most Rioja wines are light, unoaked wines designed for immediate drinking. Most of the Rioja we see in the United States has spent at least a year in American oak barrels, which often adds vanilla, spice, and even coconut flavors to the wines.

How long the wines stay in the barrel contributes to how they'll taste. Generally, Rioja fall into four categories: Joven, Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva.  Joven wines are typically made in stainless steel or other nonreactive vessels and released the year after their vintage date. They are fruity, lively, fresh drinks that sell for about $8.  Crianza wines are at least two years old when they are released, and one of those years must have been spent in barrels.  Reserva wines are required to spend three years again, one of those years in barrels.  Gran Reserva wines come only from exceptional vintages, and are required to spend two years in oak and three years in the bottle.

This doesn't mean that Gran Reserva wines are the oakiest Rioja wines. Aging mellows the wine and oak barrels allow oxygen to come in contact with the wine.  This process begins to oxidize it. The nuts, dried fruit, spice, and mushroom flavors created by oxidation add to the wine's complexity.  Gran Reserva Rioja is also made only in very good vintages and most Gran Reservas are expected to last for years in the bottle. Compared to $10 Crianzas, they are pricey at $30 to $60, or even more, but they hold their own next to the best red wines in the world.

There is another style of Rioja available, though it doesn’t have an official name.  This style includes wines produced in the same complex quality as Gran Reserva but without the need for aging.  Some are single-vineyard wines, a surprise in a region that has long relied on blending wines from different areas of the region. Others are super-modern reds made from extra ripe grapes and aged in French oak rather than the more traditional American. Many of these wines are labeled simply "Rioja," but the higher price tags give them away as more ambitious than the classification lets on. Check them out if you can find some; they represent some of the most exciting winemaking in Spain.

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