Top 100 red wines of Rioja - Page 2

Discover the top 100 best red wines of Rioja as well as the best winemakers in the region. Explore the varietals of the red wines that are popular of Rioja and the best vintages to taste in this region.

Discovering the wine region of Rioja

Rioja, in northern Spain, is best known for its berry-flavored, barrel-aged red wines made from Tempranillo and Garnacha. It is probably the leading wine region in Spain. It is certainly the most famous, rivaling only Jerez. The Vineyards follow the course of the Ebro for a hundred kilometres between the towns of Haro and Alfaro.

Besides Tempranillo and Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo (Carignan) are also used in Rioja's red wines. Some wineries, notably Marqués de Riscal, use small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon. White grapes are planted much less. In 2017, the vineyard area was recorded at 64,215 hectares (158,679 acres).

Discover the grape variety: Tempranillo

The black Tempranillo is a grape variety native to Spain. It produces a variety of grape specially used for the elaboration of wine. It is rare to find this grape to eat on our tables. This variety of grape is characterized by medium-sized bunches and medium-sized grapes. The black Tempranillo can be found in several vineyards: South-West, Languedoc & Roussillon, Cognac, Bordeaux, Rhone valley, Provence & Corsica, Loire valley, Savoie & Bugey, Beaujolais.

Food and wine pairing with a red wine of Rioja

red wines from the region of Rioja go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, lamb or veal such as recipes of chinese noodles with beef, couscous without couscous maker or roast pork with prunes.

Organoleptic analysis of red wine of Rioja

On the nose in the region of Rioja often reveals types of flavors of oaky, dark fruit or tropical fruit and sometimes also flavors of plum, red fruit or smoke. In the mouth in the region of Rioja is a powerful with a nice balance between acidity and tannins.

News from the vineyard of Rioja

DO Penedès announces the first “Vi de Mas” wines

In November of 2021, Spain’s DO Penedès announced a massive overhaul of their bylaws with many changes aimed at re-orienting the region via a “10-year plan”. One of the key aspects was a new classification system for the estates of the region called, “Vi de Mas”, the first five of which have just been certified. While most wine regions looking to implement a system use the so-called “Burgundian Pyramid” as a structure, Penedès took a different approach that merged some of the Burgundian sy ...

Old Vine Charter: Perth’s Swan Valley to preserve historic vines

Old vines from Western Australia’s Swan Valley will be protected in the soon-to-be launched Swan Valley Old Vine Charter (OVC). More than 20 wineries from this historic region, a 30-minute drive from the state capital of Perth, are participating. The programme will see grapevines from 35 to 125 years of age registered and preserved. Participating wineries include Talijancich Wines, Nikola Estate, John Kosovich Wines, Mandoon Estate and Sandalford Wines. While the vines are predominantly Shiraz, ...

Best in Show: The top 50 wines of DWWA 2022

The 0.27% of entries awarded Best in Show at this year’s Decanter World Wine Awards reflect the inspiring world of wine and quest for quality among winemakers globally, with 50 wines expressing the best of their categories. An all-time record for wines tasted at the world’s largest wine competition, it’s quite possible that Decanter World Wine Awards 2022 marks the largest-ever wine competition to be held in history. And of the record-breaking 18,244 wines tasted, just 50 were ...