A guest asks for "a Rioja". A moment later she adds: "The soft, sweet-vanilla one, not the young one." She has told you more than she realises. In Rioja, the word on the label is not a grape or a vineyard but a length of time.
Rioja: ageing as the classification
Rioja is chiefly Tempranillo, often with Garnacha, from a moderate continental climate sheltered by mountains. Its famous tiers are, in principle, minimum ageing requirements in oak and in bottle, increasing at each step. The wine style therefore changes with the tier, not the grape.
| Tier | Principle | Style |
|---|---|---|
| Generico / Joven | Little or no oak ageing | Bright, fruity, drink now |
| Crianza | A defined minimum period, part in oak, part in bottle | Fruit plus gentle vanilla and spice |
| Reserva | Longer total ageing, more of it in oak | Softer tannin, dried fruit, coconut and vanilla appearing |
| Gran Reserva | The longest ageing, from the best vintages only | Pale rim, silky texture, leather, tobacco, savoury; released ready to drink |
American oak has traditionally been favoured, which is where the coconut and sweet vanilla come from. The producer, not the buyer, does the ageing, which is the commercial point: Rioja arrives on the table ready.
The rest of Spain
- Ribera del Duero — Tempranillo (locally Tinto Fino) at high altitude on the northern plateau. Big diurnal range: powerful, deeply coloured, high-acid, firmly structured wines. Frost is a real hazard.
- Priorat — steep terraces of llicorella slate, hot and dry, old low-yielding Garnacha and Carinena. Tiny yields give concentrated, dense, mineral and high-alcohol reds. The cost of farming vertical slate explains the price.
- Rias Baixas — cool, wet, Atlantic Galicia. Albarino: high acid, citrus and stone fruit, saline; the best white in Spain for shellfish.
- Rueda (Verdejo), Jerez (sherry, Module 5), Penedes (Cava, Module 5).
Portugal
Portugal s asset is a large stable of native grapes almost nobody else grows.
- Douro — the same terraced schist vineyards as Port, but fermented dry. Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo) give dark, structured, floral, powerful reds. Some of Europe s best value at the top end.
- Vinho Verde — cool, wet northwest. Light, high-acid, low-alcohol, often with a slight prickle of carbon dioxide. Alvarinho (the same grape as Albarino) and Loureiro produce a far more serious version than the cheap semi-sweet export style.
- Dao and Alentejo — the first cooler, granitic and elegant; the second hot, dry and generous.
Onboard Notes
Gran Reserva Rioja is the diplomat wine of a yacht cellar. It is mature, soft, unintimidating, low in aggressive tannin, and it flatters lamb, cheese, cured meat and roasted vegetables alike. When you do not know a guest palate, it very rarely offends.