Rioja
Rioja, one of Spain's most esteemed wine regions, is renowned for its exceptional fine wines. With a winemaking tradition that spans centuries, Rioja is celebrated for its unique terroir, diverse grape varieties, and the artistry of its winemakers. Situated in northern Spain, Rioja produces wines that embody the rich history and passion of Spanish winemaking.
One of the most famous vineyards in Rioja is Bodegas Marqués de Riscal, a historic winery that has been producing wines since 1858. Their wines, including the iconic Marqués de Riscal Reserva and Marqués de Riscal Gran Reserva, are renowned for their elegance, complexity, and age-worthiness.
Another esteemed vineyard is Bodegas López de Heredia Viña Tondonia, known for its traditional winemaking practices and long-aged wines. Their Viña Tondonia Reserva and Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva are highly sought-after by wine enthusiasts seeking the classic Rioja style.
Rioja is primarily known for its red wines, which are crafted predominantly from the Tempranillo grape variety. Notable vineyards such as Bodegas Muga, Bodegas Roda, and Bodegas CVNE (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) produce exceptional red wines that showcase the region's unique characteristics. These wines display flavours of ripe red fruit, subtle oak influence, well-integrated tannins, and a remarkable balance.
Rioja also offers notable white wines, mainly made from the Viura grape variety. Bodegas Riojanas, Bodegas Ontañón, and Bodegas Valdemar are among the renowned vineyards that produce exquisite white wines with vibrant acidity, citrus flavours, and a refreshing crispness.
The region's wines are often classified into four categories: Rioja, Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva, indicating the aging process and quality level. This classification system ensures consistent quality and allows wine lovers to choose wines based on their preferred style and maturity.
Rioja's fine wines beautifully capture the essence of the region, showcasing a harmonious balance between tradition and innovation. Whether you're savouring a well-aged Reserva, a vibrant Crianza, or a complex Gran Reserva, Rioja's wines promise an unforgettable experience that reflects the region's winemaking heritage and dedication to excellence.
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Rioja
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Wine Advocate (97+)
The bottled 2018 El Carretil was phenomenal. It comes from a plot of 3.64 hectares planted at three different times—1930, 1975 and 1988—on limestone, sandstone and silt soils with up to 18% active limestone. Its Tempranillo grapes aged in barrel and then were racked back to stainless steel, where it was left to mature until it was bottled. It's mineral and balsamic, expressive, open and fresh, with beautiful elegance. It's classical with even a Bordeaux twist. It shows pretty much like the sample I tasted 12 months ago, expressive and open, aromatic and perfumed, with great freshness and balance, vibrant and energetic, juicy with fine-grained tannins and with terrific balance and purity. 5,000 bottles were filled in June 2020.Inc. TAX€1,264.38 -
James Suckling (99)
A complete, fresh and complex Artadi single-plot wine with lovely subtlety. Spanish cigars, mineral, cocoa powder, some fine herbs, mussels and spices, with a background of fresh yet ripe, concentrated fruit showing crushed blackberries and blueberries. Tight, powerful but still dynamic and silky, with a mineral tinge to the supple fruit core in the middle. Not trying too hard. Impeccable balance with finesse! Tempranillo. From organically grown grapes. Already drinkable now, but better hold for a few years. Best from 2025.Inc. TAX€1,176.47 -
James Suckling (99)
Such depth, purity, concentration and minerality here that hooks you in, drawing you back to it again and again. Imagine smelling the wet stones. Then aromas of flowers, blue fruits, dried herbs, black cherries and iodine emerge. So much energy, volume and flavor on the palate with the mealy tannins giving it a fine gauze and etherealness. Lasting two minutes. Drink or hold.Inc. TAX€1,396.60 -
Inc. TAX€997.67 -
Inc. TAX€659.27 -
Wine Advocate (94)
The 2006 Pagos Viejos is sourced from Tempranillo vines over 75 years of age and aged for 18 months in new French oak. The wine is inky purple with a sublime nose of pain grille, graphite, black cherry, wild blue fruits, and blackberry. This leads to a dense, plush, remarkably elegant wine which is already exhibiting some complexity. While rich enough to be enjoyed now, it will improve for 5-7 years and be at its best from 2015 to 2030.Inc. TAX€960.52 -
Vinous (92)
Ruby-red. Cherry-vanilla, black raspberry and candied flowers on the intensely perfumed nose. Plush and expansive, with hefty dark berry and bitter cherry flavors, along with suggestions of cola and mocha. A spicy note adds bite to the finish, which is firmed by supple, harmonious tannins. Very successful for this difficult, uneven vintage.Inc. TAX€960.52 -
Inc. TAX€696.26 -
Wine Advocate (95-96)
The tank sample of the 2018 San Lázaro, which was the final blend after some eight months in barrique, showed really well and confirmed my idea that this could be the third single-vineyard wine in quality after El Pisón and El Carretil. It's a wine of finesse and perfume, of subtleness and length but without lacking power or concentration. It has a beautiful combination of violets and cassis with very fine tannins. It has inner strength and tension, a recurring note when it comes to these 2018s. Very promising, in line with the superb 2016. They expected to fill some 2,000 bottles in the summer of 2020.Inc. TAX€717.18 -
Inc. TAX€938.87
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Inc. TAX€714.47 -
Wine Advocate (100)
The 2004 El Pison stands out from its peers. It has a deeper color than the 2007 with a splendid nose that jumps from the glass. Notes of espresso, balsamic, Asian spices, pain grille, mineral, and black cherry lead to a velvety, mouth-filling, deep wine that effortlessly combines elegance with power. It should easily drink well for another 30-40 years. It simply does not get any better.Inc. TAX€4,558.38 -
Inc. TAX€2,702.92 -
Wine Advocate (98)
The 2007 El Pison is medium purple in color with a superb, already complex nose of smoke, liquid mineral, crushed stone, lavender, balsamic, and black cherry. This leads to a beautifully proportioned, elegant, satin-textured wine with plush fruit, plenty of structure, and a lengthy, seamless finish. It can be approached now although it is still evolving and should drink well through 2027. Senor Lopez de Lacalle’s description of the 2007 is “delicate, pure, and a wine of finesse.”Inc. TAX€2,702.92 -
Wine Advocate (97)
The 2008 Vina el Pison comes from a single vineyard planted in 1945 on pure limestone. It is the epitome of elegance with a sensual bouquet, a silky texture, already complex flavors, and a lengthy, pure finish. It will offer at least a 20 year lifespan, just long enough for the 2009 to be hitting its stride.Inc. TAX€2,080.38 -
Wine Advocate (94)
The 2009 Vina El Pison is born from 67-year-old vines within a real clos rather than the fictitious ones that abound. I could be pedantic and separate it from Juan Carlos- wines under the Artadi umbrella, but like my predecessor, I will include it here. The 2009 has a fresh, floral, Margaux-like bouquet with fine delineation and intensity. The palate is full-bodied with an almost impenetrable carapace of licorice-tinged black fruits, minerals, citrus peel and a powerful, sensual finish. Perhaps impressive more than pleasurable (at the moment), this behemoth will need a decade in the cellar before it will shine. Drink 2022-2040.Inc. TAX€1,708.38 -
Inc. TAX€1,918.38 -
Wine Advocate (99)
The flagship single-vineyard 2018 Viña El Pisón has to be one of the finest vintages for this bottling. It's named after a plot of 2.4 hectares planted in 1945 in the village of Laguardia. The vineyard is an amphitheater with changing soils of limestone, clay and sandstone with a deep combination of limestone and silt. The grapes underwent a 24- to 48-hour cold soak and fermented with indigenous yeasts in oak vats for 10-12 days, during which time the grapes were foot trodden twice per day. It matured in French oak barrels for nine months. There's something mysterious about this Pisón; it's subtle and elegant, a little austere and reticent at first. The palate is seamless, silky with very refined tannins, with gobsmacking balance and a very long, clean and precise finish. This is superb. 6,600 bottles were filled in June 2020.Inc. TAX€1,864.38 -
Guía Peñín (99)
Style: complex, with personality. Colour: bright cherry. Aroma: expressive, characterful, red berry notes, ripe fruit, spicy, balanced, chalk, new oak. Flavour: flavourful, long, chalky, spicy, ripe fruit, round tannins, complex.Inc. TAX€1,918.38 -
Inc. TAX€2,240.87 -
Inc. TAX€2,432.87 -
Wine Advocate (95)
A real blockbuster, the 2003 La Vina de Andres Romeo (100% Tempranillo) is exquisite, but, again, a mere 200 bottles will make it to America. Lucky readers who run across a bottle, and have the financial resources to purchase it, are in for a decadent treat.Inc. TAX€2,422.38 -
Inc. TAX€596.87 -
Vinous (95)
(100% tempranillo, sourced from a single 3.5-hectare vineyard that reportedly yielded 10 hectoliters per hectare; fermented in a single open-top wooden tank; 15% alcohol): Opaque purple. Intoxicating scents of black raspberry, boysenberry, incense and violet, along with notes of black pepper and anise. Lush, spicy and expansive, offering powerful red and dark berry compote and vanilla flavors and an exotic candied floral quality. Clings impressively on the endless, subtly tannic finish, energized by zesty acidity.Inc. TAX€617.58 -
The Bodegas Bhilar Phinca Abejera Rioja Alavesa 2012 embodies the rich terroir of Spain's prestigious Rioja Alavesa region. Nestled in the alluring Basque Country, the acclaimed Bodegas Bhilar demonstrates artisanal winemaking acuity renowned worldwide. The Phinca Abejera Rioja Alavesa is a boutique production, cultivated from old-vine Tempranillo grapes imparting distinct notes of blackberries, liquorice and wild herbs.
Striking a balance between modern winemaking techniques and steadfast tradition, the vintners use indigenous yeast for fermentation in large French oak casks, lending the wine an understated elegance and complexity. Ageing for 36 months in neutral oak promotes the wine's finesse, culminating in a superbly structured palate featuring deep fruits, earthy minerality, and a long, velvety finish.
As a biodynamic and organic estate, Bodegas Bhilar's commitment to sustainable viticulture ensures the continued quality and character of the Phinca Abejera Rioja Alavesa. The 2012 vintage possesses an enviable cellaring potential, inviting discerning connoisseurs to savour its evolution.
Inc. TAX€319.43 -
Wine Advocate (94)
As we didn't have another recent vintage to compare with the 2010 and the expectations were so high, Roda's CEO Agustín Santolaya insisted on uncorking another excellent vintage, the 2004 Roda I, to check on its evolution. The production and source of the grapes was basically the same as today, 100% Tempranillo that, back then, was fermented in French oak vats with indigenous yeasts, followed by aging in barriques for 16 months. There might be some things in common with 2010, which is the current vintage—a very balanced year with great ripeness and acidity, wines with power and elegance and a very slow development. This 2004 is aging at a glacial pace and should have a long life ahead of it. At the time, they produced 184,447 bottles of this 2004. It has been in bottle since May 2006.Inc. TAX€751.98 -
Decanter (95)
From a warm vintage with an early harvest, this is a well-balanced Rioja with considerable complexity. There's a ripe plum character to the black fruit aromas, along with warm tobacco hints and earthy, undergrowth notes. Like a perfectly stretched tapestry, this shows a taut precision to the winemaking, with admirable balance. Polished black fruit, spice and chocolate notes show good persistence. A sense of freshness and fine tannins with juicy grip on the finish; this has life ahead of it.Inc. TAX€567.18 -
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Built around a core of Tempranillo from vineyards near Haro, with a splash of Graciano from the Rioja Oriental, this is a superb Roda I from a vintage that is often under-rated in Rioja. Balanced, perfumed and precise, with adroitly handled 50% new wood, a hint of good reduction, some vanilla spice, wild herbs and layers of blackberry and blueberry fruit. Delicious.Inc. TAX€369.18 -
Wine Advocate (95)
The 2021 Alma Contador, produced with 91% Tempranillo and 9% Garnacha, feels very ripe, and the label states 15% alcohol. It has notes of stewed fruit, dark spices, smoke and toast. It has a full-bodied palate with abundant tannins and is very powerful and concentrated but with all the components in good balance. This is going to require a little more time in bottle and/or powerful food. 14,000 bottles produced. It was bottled after 20 months in new French oak barrels.Inc. TAX€794.92 -
Inc. TAX€984.78
-
Wine Advocate (97+)
The bottled 2018 El Carretil was phenomenal. It comes from a plot of 3.64 hectares planted at three different times—1930, 1975 and 1988—on limestone, sandstone and silt soils with up to 18% active limestone. Its Tempranillo grapes aged in barrel and then were racked back to stainless steel, where it was left to mature until it was bottled. It's mineral and balsamic, expressive, open and fresh, with beautiful elegance. It's classical with even a Bordeaux twist. It shows pretty much like the sample I tasted 12 months ago, expressive and open, aromatic and perfumed, with great freshness and balance, vibrant and energetic, juicy with fine-grained tannins and with terrific balance and purity. 5,000 bottles were filled in June 2020.In Bond€1,035.00 -
James Suckling (99)
A complete, fresh and complex Artadi single-plot wine with lovely subtlety. Spanish cigars, mineral, cocoa powder, some fine herbs, mussels and spices, with a background of fresh yet ripe, concentrated fruit showing crushed blackberries and blueberries. Tight, powerful but still dynamic and silky, with a mineral tinge to the supple fruit core in the middle. Not trying too hard. Impeccable balance with finesse! Tempranillo. From organically grown grapes. Already drinkable now, but better hold for a few years. Best from 2025.In Bond€958.00 -
James Suckling (99)
Such depth, purity, concentration and minerality here that hooks you in, drawing you back to it again and again. Imagine smelling the wet stones. Then aromas of flowers, blue fruits, dried herbs, black cherries and iodine emerge. So much energy, volume and flavor on the palate with the mealy tannins giving it a fine gauze and etherealness. Lasting two minutes. Drink or hold.In Bond€1,145.00 -
In Bond€809.00
-
In Bond€527.00
-
Wine Advocate (94)
The 2006 Pagos Viejos is sourced from Tempranillo vines over 75 years of age and aged for 18 months in new French oak. The wine is inky purple with a sublime nose of pain grille, graphite, black cherry, wild blue fruits, and blackberry. This leads to a dense, plush, remarkably elegant wine which is already exhibiting some complexity. While rich enough to be enjoyed now, it will improve for 5-7 years and be at its best from 2015 to 2030.In Bond€778.00 -
Vinous (92)
Ruby-red. Cherry-vanilla, black raspberry and candied flowers on the intensely perfumed nose. Plush and expansive, with hefty dark berry and bitter cherry flavors, along with suggestions of cola and mocha. A spicy note adds bite to the finish, which is firmed by supple, harmonious tannins. Very successful for this difficult, uneven vintage.In Bond€778.00 -
In Bond€558.00
-
Wine Advocate (95-96)
The tank sample of the 2018 San Lázaro, which was the final blend after some eight months in barrique, showed really well and confirmed my idea that this could be the third single-vineyard wine in quality after El Pisón and El Carretil. It's a wine of finesse and perfume, of subtleness and length but without lacking power or concentration. It has a beautiful combination of violets and cassis with very fine tannins. It has inner strength and tension, a recurring note when it comes to these 2018s. Very promising, in line with the superb 2016. They expected to fill some 2,000 bottles in the summer of 2020.In Bond€579.00 -
In Bond€760.00
-
In Bond€573.00
-
Wine Advocate (100)
The 2004 El Pison stands out from its peers. It has a deeper color than the 2007 with a splendid nose that jumps from the glass. Notes of espresso, balsamic, Asian spices, pain grille, mineral, and black cherry lead to a velvety, mouth-filling, deep wine that effortlessly combines elegance with power. It should easily drink well for another 30-40 years. It simply does not get any better.In Bond€3,780.00 -
In Bond€2,230.00
-
Wine Advocate (98)
The 2007 El Pison is medium purple in color with a superb, already complex nose of smoke, liquid mineral, crushed stone, lavender, balsamic, and black cherry. This leads to a beautifully proportioned, elegant, satin-textured wine with plush fruit, plenty of structure, and a lengthy, seamless finish. It can be approached now although it is still evolving and should drink well through 2027. Senor Lopez de Lacalle’s description of the 2007 is “delicate, pure, and a wine of finesse.”In Bond€2,230.00 -
Wine Advocate (97)
The 2008 Vina el Pison comes from a single vineyard planted in 1945 on pure limestone. It is the epitome of elegance with a sensual bouquet, a silky texture, already complex flavors, and a lengthy, pure finish. It will offer at least a 20 year lifespan, just long enough for the 2009 to be hitting its stride.In Bond€1,715.00 -
Wine Advocate (94)
The 2009 Vina El Pison is born from 67-year-old vines within a real clos rather than the fictitious ones that abound. I could be pedantic and separate it from Juan Carlos- wines under the Artadi umbrella, but like my predecessor, I will include it here. The 2009 has a fresh, floral, Margaux-like bouquet with fine delineation and intensity. The palate is full-bodied with an almost impenetrable carapace of licorice-tinged black fruits, minerals, citrus peel and a powerful, sensual finish. Perhaps impressive more than pleasurable (at the moment), this behemoth will need a decade in the cellar before it will shine. Drink 2022-2040.In Bond€1,405.00 -
In Bond€1,580.00
-
Wine Advocate (99)
The flagship single-vineyard 2018 Viña El Pisón has to be one of the finest vintages for this bottling. It's named after a plot of 2.4 hectares planted in 1945 in the village of Laguardia. The vineyard is an amphitheater with changing soils of limestone, clay and sandstone with a deep combination of limestone and silt. The grapes underwent a 24- to 48-hour cold soak and fermented with indigenous yeasts in oak vats for 10-12 days, during which time the grapes were foot trodden twice per day. It matured in French oak barrels for nine months. There's something mysterious about this Pisón; it's subtle and elegant, a little austere and reticent at first. The palate is seamless, silky with very refined tannins, with gobsmacking balance and a very long, clean and precise finish. This is superb. 6,600 bottles were filled in June 2020.In Bond€1,535.00 -
Guía Peñín (99)
Style: complex, with personality. Colour: bright cherry. Aroma: expressive, characterful, red berry notes, ripe fruit, spicy, balanced, chalk, new oak. Flavour: flavourful, long, chalky, spicy, ripe fruit, round tannins, complex.In Bond€1,580.00 -
In Bond€1,845.00
-
In Bond€2,005.00
-
Wine Advocate (95)
A real blockbuster, the 2003 La Vina de Andres Romeo (100% Tempranillo) is exquisite, but, again, a mere 200 bottles will make it to America. Lucky readers who run across a bottle, and have the financial resources to purchase it, are in for a decadent treat.In Bond€2,000.00 -
In Bond€475.00
-
Vinous (95)
(100% tempranillo, sourced from a single 3.5-hectare vineyard that reportedly yielded 10 hectoliters per hectare; fermented in a single open-top wooden tank; 15% alcohol): Opaque purple. Intoxicating scents of black raspberry, boysenberry, incense and violet, along with notes of black pepper and anise. Lush, spicy and expansive, offering powerful red and dark berry compote and vanilla flavors and an exotic candied floral quality. Clings impressively on the endless, subtly tannic finish, energized by zesty acidity.In Bond€496.00 -
The Bodegas Bhilar Phinca Abejera Rioja Alavesa 2012 embodies the rich terroir of Spain's prestigious Rioja Alavesa region. Nestled in the alluring Basque Country, the acclaimed Bodegas Bhilar demonstrates artisanal winemaking acuity renowned worldwide. The Phinca Abejera Rioja Alavesa is a boutique production, cultivated from old-vine Tempranillo grapes imparting distinct notes of blackberries, liquorice and wild herbs.
Striking a balance between modern winemaking techniques and steadfast tradition, the vintners use indigenous yeast for fermentation in large French oak casks, lending the wine an understated elegance and complexity. Ageing for 36 months in neutral oak promotes the wine's finesse, culminating in a superbly structured palate featuring deep fruits, earthy minerality, and a long, velvety finish.
As a biodynamic and organic estate, Bodegas Bhilar's commitment to sustainable viticulture ensures the continued quality and character of the Phinca Abejera Rioja Alavesa. The 2012 vintage possesses an enviable cellaring potential, inviting discerning connoisseurs to savour its evolution.
In Bond€244.00 -
Wine Advocate (94)
As we didn't have another recent vintage to compare with the 2010 and the expectations were so high, Roda's CEO Agustín Santolaya insisted on uncorking another excellent vintage, the 2004 Roda I, to check on its evolution. The production and source of the grapes was basically the same as today, 100% Tempranillo that, back then, was fermented in French oak vats with indigenous yeasts, followed by aging in barriques for 16 months. There might be some things in common with 2010, which is the current vintage—a very balanced year with great ripeness and acidity, wines with power and elegance and a very slow development. This 2004 is aging at a glacial pace and should have a long life ahead of it. At the time, they produced 184,447 bottles of this 2004. It has been in bottle since May 2006.In Bond€608.00 -
Decanter (95)
From a warm vintage with an early harvest, this is a well-balanced Rioja with considerable complexity. There's a ripe plum character to the black fruit aromas, along with warm tobacco hints and earthy, undergrowth notes. Like a perfectly stretched tapestry, this shows a taut precision to the winemaking, with admirable balance. Polished black fruit, spice and chocolate notes show good persistence. A sense of freshness and fine tannins with juicy grip on the finish; this has life ahead of it.In Bond€454.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Built around a core of Tempranillo from vineyards near Haro, with a splash of Graciano from the Rioja Oriental, this is a superb Roda I from a vintage that is often under-rated in Rioja. Balanced, perfumed and precise, with adroitly handled 50% new wood, a hint of good reduction, some vanilla spice, wild herbs and layers of blackberry and blueberry fruit. Delicious.In Bond€289.00 -
Wine Advocate (95)
The 2021 Alma Contador, produced with 91% Tempranillo and 9% Garnacha, feels very ripe, and the label states 15% alcohol. It has notes of stewed fruit, dark spices, smoke and toast. It has a full-bodied palate with abundant tannins and is very powerful and concentrated but with all the components in good balance. This is going to require a little more time in bottle and/or powerful food. 14,000 bottles produced. It was bottled after 20 months in new French oak barrels.In Bond€640.00 -
In Bond€802.00
