RIOJA

REGION FOR THIS CELLAR

Spain's Top Wine Region

Rioja is historic as Spain’s most famous wine region. Artifacts show that wine was produced as far back as 200 BCE. In the late 19th century, the region benefitted from the demise of Bordeaux vineyards. As these were devastated by mildew and phylloxera, Bordelais négociants came to Rioja to trade. This period influenced the wine style and led to the establishment of many of the important Rioja houses in production today.

Rioja has three subregions. Rioja Alta has clay, iron and alluvial soils, often red in colour. Rioja Alavesa lies within the Basque province of Alava with a higher level of limestone. Rioja Oriental (previously called Rioja Baja) is in the eastern part of the region: it has a warmer, drier climate due to the influence of the Mediterranean. Its soils are siltier with less chalk content, and this is where a greater proportion of Garnacha is grown. Rioja DOCa wines can be made from grapes grown across the subregions or from specific sites and individual parcels.

Traditionally, oak played a large role in Rioja production. The DOCa classification defines a hierarchy of styles and quality levels that reflects the time in oak. Historically, maturation was in old barrels made from American oak. More recently, wineries introduced French oak into the mix. Style categories start with Joven (meaning young) which spends little or no time in oak. Crianza is aged for at least one year in oak and another in bottle, whereafter it can be released in its third year. Reserva wines spend a minimum of one year in oak but often more and can only be released three years after harvest. Gran Reserva wines are aged for a total of five years with at least two in barrel. However, each winery uses a different combination of old/new, American/French and length of time in oak; hence, “oakiness” can vary significantly between producers within a given category. Similar rules apply for white and rosé wines but with generally shorter barrel time.