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While the best Spanish wine is subjective to ones taste, one could argue that the Rioja wine region is the most well-known and important.
In Spain wine regions have certain rules and regulations that are similar to those in France or Italy. The Rioja wine region is one of two in Spain with the highest classification of quality assurance called the Denominación de Origen Calificada (D.O.C.) or "Qualified Appellation of Origin".
Red Rioja wine is typically based on the Tempranillo grape with Garnacha (Grenache), Mazuelo and Graziano usually in a supporting role. White Rioja wines are typically made from the native Viura grape although Verdejo and international varieties such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are permitted. The use of oak aging in the Rioja wine region traditionally begins with the use of American oak barrels. The aging process of these wines is indicated on the bottle in several ways:
Rioja (formerly "joven"): This is a young wine that sees very little or sometimes no oak aging.
Crianza: One year aging in barrel, and additional months aging in bottle.
Reserva: Wines see a minimum of one year in barrel and with bottle aging must be three years old before release.
Grand Reserva: Wines see a minimum of two years in barrel and three years of bottle aging.
WE9090 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 5/1/2023 Dark garnet to the eye, this wine offers a bouquet of black cherry, caramel and freshly ground black pepper. It offers a sense of brightness on the palate, with plush tannins and flavors of cherry pie, raspberry preserves, orange zest, milk chocolate and herbes de Provence that head into a fruit-filled finish. (Mike Desimone)Premier SelectPremier Select wines are handpicked by our staff from amongst thousands of wines for their exceptional quality. They're made by a top producer and comparable to wines at twice the cost.
JS9090 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Friday, September 9, 2022 Black plums, some sour black cherries and grilled spices on the nose, following through to a full body with some crushed blueberries and a tight, tannic structure. The fruit is a little tart. Tempranillo, graciano and viura. Drink in 2023.Premier SelectPremier Select wines are handpicked by our staff from amongst thousands of wines for their exceptional quality. They're made by a top producer and comparable to wines at twice the cost.
JS9090 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Thursday, October 14, 2021 A pleasant garnacha with light berry and jam character. Medium body, light tannins and a fresh finish. Drink now.
JS9797 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Thursday, February 3, 2022 A perfumed nose of plums, mulberries, mushrooms, caramel, sweet tobacco and sweet spices. Full-bodied with velvety, fine tannins and lively acidity. Balanced and supple with a creamy texture. Delicate and precise with a long, polished finish. 90% tempranillo and 10% graciano. Drink or hold. (James Suckling)RP9595 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 14th Jul 2022 They used the words subtlety, elegance, finesse, delicacy and silk to define the 2015 Gran Reserva 904 Selección Especial, a blend of 90% Tempranillo from their vineyards in Villalba, Briñas and Rodezno with 10% Graciano from the Montecillo vineyard in Fuenmayor that was picked 23 days later than the Tempranillo. The grapes were sorted optically for the first time, and they fermented in stainless steel where the wine went through malolactic too. The wine was put in barrel in January 2016—used American oak barrels built by their own coopers—where it matured for four years, during which time it was racked every six months. 2015 was a healthy vintage with balanced ripeness that delivered wines with good aging potential. They thought the wine needed a little more time in bottle to polish those tannins and have decided to hold it and release the wine around March 2023; it will be marked Selección Especial, the first 904 to do so, as they have very high hopes for this year and believe it’s one of the finest vintages. They think it will develop the sophistication in the palate with a little more time and that is should achieve the silkiness that is the signature of 904. This is very 2015; I saw quite strong tannins in all the 2015 wines I tasted from Rioja Alta. There are some 150,000 bottles of this. (Luis Gutiérrez)VN9595 pts. - Vinous - Apr 2021 Vivid ruby. Expansive red and blue fruit preserve, tobacco, potpourri, spice and botanical herb aromas, with vanilla and smoky mineral notes emerging as the wine opens up. Sappy, penetrating and gently chewy on the palate, offering vibrant, mineral- and spice-accented black raspberry, bitter cherry and rose pastille flavors that deepen and turn sweeter on the back half. Shows sharp focus and floral lift on the impressively long, youthfully tannic finish, which leaves behind notes of candied blue fruits and spicecake. (Josh Raynolds)SP9292 pts. - Wine Spectator - Sep 30, 2021 This elegant, sanguine red offers supple layers of dried cherry, sandalwood, vanilla and Kalamata olive, supported by smooth tannins. Hints of leather, tobacco, mineral and anise echo on the finish. A balanced, traditional style red. Drink now through 2031. 12,500 cases made, 3,200 cases imported. (Gillian Sciaretta)
RP9191 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 14th Jul 2022 The certified organic red 2020 Cune Organic is aromatic, expressive and fruit-driven but with depth and complexity. They liked the Garnacha in 2020, which represents no less than 60% of the blend, complemented by 30% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano. The wine is fresh and has a profile similar to the young and juicy Crianza, with good ripeness and a solid palate. It matured in second use 300-liter oak barrels for six months. Urrutia mentioned cheerful and barbecue when talking about this wine. Very good at that. 40,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2022. (Luis Gutiérrez)VN8989 pts. - Vinous - Apr 2021 Deep, lurid ruby. Ripe black and blue fruits, candied flowers and a hint of licorice on the perfumed nose. Sappy and velvety in texture, offering bitter cherry and blueberry flavors that turn sweeter with air. Finishes long and smooth, with repeating spiciness, a hint of cola and round, even tannins. (Josh Raynolds)
RP9292 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 30th Oct 2020 They are convinced at the winery that the 2015 Señorío de P. Peciña Crianza is the best Crianza they have ever produced, which is often the case with the current vintage for sale... But I must admit that the wine was very impressively balanced, nuanced and complex. It has freshness and is approachable enough while showing Rioja character and integrated oak to appeal to a wide audience. It’s ripe without excess, coming through as juicy and tasty. It spent two years in used American oak barrels. 100,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2019. (Luis Gutiérrez)VN9292 pts. - Vinous - Apr 2021 Bright ruby. Lively, smoke- and spice-accented cherry and black raspberry aromas are complemented by floral, vanilla and pipe tobacco flourishes. Sweet and seamless on the palate, offering vibrant red and blue fruit flavors that deepen and turn spicier with air. Shows very good energy and appealing florality on a very long, penetrating finish shaped by well-judged tannins. (Josh Raynolds)
RP9797 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 14th Jul 2022 They were eager to show me their 2010 Gran Reserva 890, their flagship wine from one of the most heralded vintages of recent times, the next vintage of this wine since 2005. It’s 95% Tempranillo, 3% Graciano and 2% Mazuelo that fermented destemmed and crushed with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel vats for 18 days, the Tempranillo and Mazuelo together and the Graciano separately. After letting the wine settle for the winter, they selected the lots that would age for six years in used American oak barrels with 10 manual rackings. The wine epitomizes the classical style of Rioja Alta with long aging in barrel, developed and tertiary wines with a silky palate and a complex and decadent nose of forest floor, truffles, cigar ash and cedar wood. They need a very special selection of vineyards at higher altitude that take longer to ripen, and they don’t do it fully every year. If they don’t, the grapes go to Ardanza, but in 2010, the days were warm and the nights very cold and the grapes ripened thoroughly and could stand the long time in barrel without being oaky. They have stopped the last rackings to keep a little more freshness, and the wine feels phenomenal. This has to be one of the finest vintages for this wine. It’s drinkable now but should also age for a very long time; it’s intense, complex and elegant. A selection of 236 barrels were blended and bottled unfiltered in March 2017 into 61,643 bottles, 4,189 magnums and some larger formats. There will be a 2011 of this wine and then 2015 and possibly 2016 (but no 2012, 2013 or 2014). This is a very intense 890. Classicism in a bottle. (Luis Gutiérrez)JS9797 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Thursday, October 14, 2021 A fragrant nose of blackberries, plums, earth, dried flowers, leather, cloves, sweet tobacco and cigar box. Full-bodied with seamless tannins and fresh acidity. Balanced and layered with great tension. Elegant, with a velvety texture and a long finish. Such length and beauty now with so much age. Drink or hold.
JS9090 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Friday, September 9, 2022 Very dark on the nose, with lots of raw spices, charcoal and some green peppercorns on top of the blackberries. Very full-bodied and spicy. Almost a bit monolithic, despite the fine-grained tannins. Quite a unique style. Drink in 2024.
JS9292 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Thursday, October 14, 2021 A fresh, fruity red with plum and orange-peel aromas and flavors. Medium body. Clean and delicious finish. Tempranillo. Drink now.WE9090 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 9/1/2022 Dark garnet to the eye, this wine has aromas of black currant, licorice and Marcona almond. Its smooth tannins feel good on the palate. Opening flavors of bittersweet chocolate and mint hit the tastebuds first, followed by flavors of blackberry and raspberry that are joined by touches of vanilla and baking spice on the finish.
JS9797 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Sunday, November 20, 2022 This is as complex and savory as the rest of the Viña Tondonia wines, but also shows a tad more depth, with a hint of black plum and blue fruit on top of the orange rind, iron, tobacco and earthy spices. Expect some cedar and truffle to develop in the future. Juicy, zesty and tight, with a dusty tannins and bright berry fruit on the medium-to full-bodied palate. Drink or hold. (James Suckling)RP9696 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 14th Jul 2022 The 2010 Viña Tondonia Reserva has all I expect from a Reserva from Tondonia, complexity, elegance and evolution, a developed nose with notes of forest floor and wild berries, herbs and flowers, a touch of iodine, brick dust and very fine, polished tannins. It has the seriousness and elegance of Tondonia. This is a blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacho (they use the masculine form of the name of the grape) and 5% each Graciano and Mazuelo that fermented in the ancient oak vats from when the winery was created 144 years ago and matured in well-seasoned, American oak barrels for six years. It has 13% alcohol, a pH of 3.4 and 6.6 grams of acidity. 260,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2017. (Luis Gutiérrez)
VN9797 pts. - Vinous - Apr 2021 Shimmering garnet. Aromas of dried cherry, potpourri, vanilla, cigar box and exotic spices; a smoky mineral quality builds in the glass. Sweet, concentrated and seamless on the palate, offering cherry compote, red currant and rose pastille flavors that put on weight and pick up a spicy nuance on the back half. Conveys a suave blend of power and delicacy and closes sweet and gently tannic, with superb persistence and an echo of candied flowers and red fruits. This bottling and the 2001 are the only Selección Especial versions of the 890 Gran Reserva that have been produced by La Rioja Alta.RP9595 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 28th Jun 2019 I tasted the 2005 Gran Reserva 890 again, and I liked it better this time than in my previous review, even if I normally like the Gran Reserva 904 better than this bottling, as I find it better balanced. I tend to feel less energy in this wine, as it spends a very long time in barrel, six years in this case. 2005 was an excellent vintage, and they implemented some improvements in the harvest, introducing 350-kilo boxes and refrigerated transport to the winery, which they think provides better grapes and potentially better quality of the wines. The palate is medium-bodied, the tannins have mostly melted, and it has lively acidity that lift the wine up. This is a very classical and polished Rioja. 57,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2012.SP9595 pts. - Wine Spectator - Sep 30, 2018 Cedar and sandalwood aromas give way to flavors of tea, tobacco, dried cherry, forest floor and orange peel in this expressive red. Round on the palate, supported by muscular tannins and juicy acidity. Big but graceful, mature yet lively, in the traditional style. Drink now through 2030. 4,753 cases made.
JS9494 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Thursday, February 3, 2022 This was the only red that Muga made in 2018, and the wines from the best vineyards went into the blend. In other words, top vineyards were declassified. Medium-bodied with very fine tannins that are caressing and refined. Plenty of subtle berries, chocolate and walnuts. Tempranillo with garnacha, mazuelo and graciano. January 2021 release. Drink or hold.JD9191 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 6/13/2022 The 2018 Muga Reserva is a similar blend and has pretty, slightly fresher notes of darker, almost blue fruits as well as violets, spring flowers, and cedary oak. More medium-bodied on the palate, it shows the fresher, elegant style of the vintage, has beautiful tannins, no hard edges, and outstanding length on the finish. (Jeb Dunnuck)
JS9292 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Monday, November 7, 2022 Classic Rioja here with a refined and savory nose showing fine spices, new leather, iron, plums and orange peel. Elegant and very nuanced on the medium-bodied palate that shows fine tannins and juicy berry fruit. Long, reserved and bright in finish. Drink or hold.SP8989 pts. - Wine Spectator - Oct 15, 2022 Fresh and balanced, this medium-bodied red offers plumped cherry fruit flavors accented by baking spices, iron and Earl Grey tea. Supple tannins lend a plush texture and firm the finish. Tempranillo and Graciano. Drink now through 2025. 90,000 cases imported. (Alison Napjus)
JS9393 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Thursday, October 14, 2021 A pretty nose of raspberries, cassis, fresh herbs, vanilla and sweet spices. It’s medium-bodied with round tannins. Creamy and fruity with chocolatey character on the mid-palate. Supple finish with excellent length. Tangy acidity. 100% tempranillo. Drink or hold.RP9292 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 14th Jul 2022 Their young and fresh red 2018 Viña Alberdi, already a Reserva (Crianza in Spain), matured in oak barrel for two years—in new barrels for the first year and in used barrels for the second year. During the élevage, they racked the wine manually from barrel to barrel four times. 2018 was a year of lower alcohol and more freshness in the wines, and they thought the wines were not designed for the long haul; so, they didn’t produce any other wine, and so the only wine from 2018 IS VIÑA ALBERDI! Which means that all the Tempranillo grapes that were destined for 890, 904 and all the other wines went to this wine. They didn’t use the Garnacha (which was sold in bulk). So, this is a super-Viña Alberdi, which shows more Crianza style in this cooler vintage but with very good depth and complexity, perhaps a more modern and fresher style. The wine has a seamless palate and a juicy texture, with more color than other vintages, more intensity, more fruit… It has grapes from very good vineyards and poor soils that were never destined for this wine. Highly recommendable and very versatile. It has potential to age. They produced a whopping one million bottles of it. It was bottled in March 2021. (Luis Gutiérrez)