Many people mistakenly believe that “Rioja” is a brand name and/or a quality designation for wines. Below some more clarity.
First of all, La Rioja is an autonomous state and province in the north of Spain whose capital is Logroño. 2 rivers flow through this region; The Ebro and the Rio Oja. The region owes its name to the latter. La Rioja is also a place in Argentina, in the province of “Provincia de La Rioja”. La Rioja in Spain is one of the most important wine regions in Europe usually known for its fine wines. However, it is not true that all wines from this region are of optimal quality, something that is all too often believed to be true. So, ordering a bottle of wine because it says “Rioja” does not automatically guarantee that fine taste that you are looking for. As with so many products, also wine comes with different quality levels ...
Wines bearing the name “Rioja” can come from the regions of La Rioja, Basque Country and Navarra. Due to its altitude, the influence of the Ebro Valley and the good composition of the clay/lime soil, this area is one of the leading quality wine suppliers of Spain, which was the very first to receive the status of “Denominación de Origen”. This happened in 1925. Later, in 1991, the word "Calificada" was added. This title may only be carried by wines that have proven to be of consistent quality over the years.
We can divide the wine region into 3 zones; Rioja Alavesa, belonging to the Basque province of Alava, Rioja Alta and Rioja Baja. The first 2 are at about 4 to 5 hundred meters above sea level and therefore it is a bit cooler than in Rioja Baja which is at about 300 meters. Because this last region is lower, it also gets warmer and the grapes are riper. As a result, the wines that come from there are less nuanced in taste and therefore often a bit cheaper in price.
There are seven grape varieties that can be considered the most important for the production of a Rioja wine, these are 4 blue and 3 white varieties, of which for red wine the “Tempranillo”, also known under the names “Cencibel”, “Tinto Fino”, “Tinto del Pais” or “Ull de Liebre”, is the most important. In addition, we also know the “Garnacha”, to many of you perhaps better known under its French name “Grenache”, the “Mazuelo”, also called “Cariñena” and the “Graciano”. The most important grape for making white Rioja is the “Viura”, also called “Macabeo”. Incidentally, this is also one of the obligatory grape varieties for making Cava (along with Xarel-lo, Parillada and, to a lesser extent, Chardonnay). The other 2 are the “Malvasia riojana” and the “Garnacha Blanca”.
The great thing about La Rioja is that they have lifted their own quality requirements from the Crianza wines to a higher level than what is mandatory for the rest of Spain. If the label says “Joven” then you are dealing with a young wine, these are normally wines that come on the market in the year after harvest. Incidentally, the year on a wine label is not the year of bottling, but the year of harvest. If the label says “Crianza” and it concerns a white or rosé wine, it has matured at least 6 months in oak barrels. In the case of red, it has spent at least 12 months (for the rest of Spain 6 months is mandatory) on oak and then at least 12 months in the bottle. A red Rioja Crianza may only be marketed from the third year after harvest. A white or rosé “Reserva” has spent at least 6 months in the barrel and then has to mature in the bottle until 2 years have passed. The red variant of this has a minimum of 12 months of wood aging and 24 months of bottle aging (it is also possible the other way around) before it comes on the market. And then we have the highest qualification, the ”Gran Reserva”. These are wines that have spent a minimum of 30 months in the bottle for white and rosé in addition to the 6 months of oak. They are also very rare. The red Gran Reservas may not be on the market until the sixth year after harvest and must have undergone a wood maturation of 2 years and a bottle maturation of 3 years.
Salud!
Roel Peters RP-Vinos USA
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