Rioja Reserva/Gran Reserva

From Cornwall to the Scottish islands and gastropubs to three-star Michelin, Rioja is a staple of wine lists across the UK. Customers love it and feel safe ordering it unprompted, which can make it a great margin-generator for your venue.

But does it deserve its popularity, and where are the sweet-spots in terms of over-delivery?

In this tasting, we decided to concentrate on the upper end of the category; wines that were classified Reserva or Gran Reserva. But we also included wines that were of equivalent price/quality level, but had elected not to classify themselves as such.

These so-called ‘genéricos’ are a growing, and dynamic part of the region’s wine scene, so we felt they needed to be tasted alongside their more traditionally-labelled categories. All the categories had their own flights.

Bodegas Ondarre Rioja Reserva 2017 (92 points)

£10.69, Hallgarten & Novum

This shows a ripe but fresh profile – fresh strawberries, plums, fresh mint and rose petals. It’s quite a simple wine, but it’s meant to be – and it’s an absolute pleasure to drink.

Stylistically, I think this is spot on and it’s great value for money. I’d use this as my first-price by the glass wine.

La Rioja Alta Viña Arana 2014  (89 points)

£25, Armit Wines

There are subtle incense spices here and a lovely balance between spice, dried leaves and fresh red cherry fruit. Ample acidity frames this lighter style Gran Reserva, but it still has sufficient complexity to age.

It’s got great length and I think represents good value for money – not least in the way it shows its maturity.

I’d have this with roast game.

C.V.N.E. Imperial Gran Reserva 2012 (92 points)

£33.58, Hatch Mansfield

This is a really traditional Riojan Gran Reserva, with plenty of tertiary flavours, like mushrooms and cellar floor, along with smoky, savoury dried red fruits. It’s gorgeously old school – pure, elegant, assertive and paled from, I would guess, a top producer.

I’d have it with a risotto of mollejas (chicken gizzards) and trompettes de la mort.

Viña Salceda, Conde de la Salceda Reserva 2017 (96 points)

£25, Viña Salceda

This is an elegant combination of redcurrant and red cherry fruit, with a touch of cloves and fresh oak. It’s really elegant and charming, with plenty of concentration on the palate, but a softness too. There’s plenty of alcohol, but it’s really well integrated with a long finish. It’s outstanding.

This wine really seduced me – I kept wanting to go back to it. It would be great on a preservation system.

La Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza 2015 (94 points)

£21.50, Armit Wines

There are charming red cherries here with sweet spices and dry tobacco leaf with firm but round tannins. The palate adds some balsamic, red plum and spice flavours. The finish is surprisingly powerful and very long.

Around the £20 mark, this is great value and would be excellent with a chargrilled T-bone or Sunday roast beef.

Lalomba Finca Valhonta 2017 (93 points)

£79.18, Enotria & Coe

This wine has everything: depth and complexity but also balance and concentration. There’s masterful winemaking here.

Chocolate, dense black fruit and full grippy tannins, but also fresh acidity and a hearteningly long finish, which is full of flavour: chocolate, coffee, herbs, meat, red and black fruit, pepper, nutmeg… it’s exceptional.

You could use this as a match for jamon iberico or game: venison or rabbit ragu with pappardelle.

Ortega Ezquerro Reserva DOC Rioja 2015 (94 points)

£15.08, Jeroboams Trade

To me, this wine offers something different stylistically. It has a savoury character – spicy and balsamic – with herbaceous tertiary notes of dill and garrigue.

It would be good to use in a wine-pairing menu or perhaps even by the glass.

Viña Salceda, Conde de la Salceda Reserva 2017 (96 points)

£25, Viña Salceda

There’s lots of big coffee, toffee, fudge, vanilla and liquorice flavours in here but it’s all really well integrated. It’s a wine that has everything, though you’d probably need to decant it for a couple of hours. The price is high, but it’s justified. It’s a very polished wine.

This would be great after a barbecue.

La Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza 2015 (94 points)

£21.50, Armit Wines

I nearly picked another wine here [La Rioja Alta 904 Gran Reserva] but for £21 this wine has everything: primary, secondary and tertiary aromas. It has blueberries, blackberries, baked red fruit, liquorice, tobacco, black pepper, cedar and mushrooms, with a really long finish.

I’d serve it with fillet or sirloin steak and people would love it!

La Rioja Alta Viña Arana 2014 (89 points)

£25, Armit Wines

There is fruit here – cranberries and cherries – but a lot of other more subdued herb and hedgerow flavours, too – dill, sage and leaves – that I really liked.

I felt this was the most classic wine of the tasting, stylistically, and would be great on a preservation system.

Viña Salceda, Conde de la Salceda Reserva 2017

£25, Vina Salceda

Our Best in Class award goes to the wine with the best overall score from the tasting. This time we had two wines level on points, the Rioja Alta 904 Gran Reserva and the Conde de la Salceda Reserva.

In the end we awarded it to the latter by virtue of the fact that its lowest score was higher than that of the 904. Not one judge scored it below 94 points.

But both wines are exceptional – and very different in style. So probably both well worth a look!

‘Really charming nose of redcurrants and red cherries with a touch of cloves. Great concentration on the palate, but also softness. Outstanding wine.’ Alexia Gallouet

‘Lots of fruit, coffee, vanilla, meat and licorice but well integrated. Very polished.’ Jan van Heesvelde

‘Juicy cherry notes, with intense sweetness and firm tannins. Cedar, tobacco chocolate. Great complexity.’ Andre Luis Martins

Bodegas Olarra Dehesa de Gazania Gran Reserva 2011

£9.28, Majestic Trade

Our Value for Money award goes to the wine that delivers the most points for the money. Usually we use 90 points as a cut off, which, broadly speaking, is the level at which our tasters are moving into ‘I’d definitely like to list this’ territory.

The Olarra is a classic (and very mature) Gran Reserva style at the kind of price that puts it within the orbit of more or less any venue in the country. Incredible value.

‘Leather, baked fruit, strawberries, plums and cherries, with good balance.’ Maria Sobrino

‘Tobacco and red fruit. Rounded, with smooth tannins and great acidity.’ Merlin Ramos

‘Tobacco, balsamic and bitter chocolate with an elegant finish.’ Andre Luis Martins

Bodegas Bilbainas Viña Pomal 106 Barricas Rioja Reserva 2017

£10.92, Codorniu UK

Our By The Glass award is all about approachability – a wine that can be happily drunk on its own or with multiple types of food. Something that just about everyone will like, and which is easily affordable.

It’s a tricky slot to fill. We had a lot of wines put forward for this, but in the end, the Pomal ticked all the boxes. It was super-easy to drink, versatile and very well priced.

‘Blackberries and black tea with gentle cedary notes. Good complexity.’ Andre Luis Martins

‘Rerdcurrants, strawberries and oak. This has good acidity and is well-integrated.’ Jan van Heesvelde

‘Supple tannins, spice and sweetness. Great gastropub wine.’ Merlin Ramos

Ortega Ezquerro Reserva DOC Rioja 2015

£15.08, Jeroboams Trade

Group Dining is not dissimilar in some ways to By The Glass. The wine needs to be representative of its style and it needs to be – for want of a better description – easy to like for large numbers of people.

But it also needs to be a bit more premium (and more obviously premium) and also more gastronomic, since it will be served with food. The Ortega Ezquerro ticked all those boxes really well.

‘Tertiary, savoury aromas with a spicy structure. Clear character, and original stylistically.’ Merlin Ramos

‘High intensity on the nose, with strawberries, grenadine and red peppers. Good acidity.’ Alexia Gallouet

‘Cherries, vanilla and cloves with a fresh palate.’ Jan van Heesvelde

C.V.N.E. Imperial Gran Reserva 2012

£33.58, Hatch Mansfield

Price is not a factor when it comes to wines for the preservation system. Nor is typicity. Wines can be as unusual or expensive as they like – but they do need to be exceptional. And CVNE’s Imperial Gran Reserva was certainly that.

There were atypical Riojas in this tasting (look back through the tasting notes if you want to find one) – particularly in the Generico section. But this was a benchmark Gran Reserva – the kind of wine that you could put on a preservation system and still sell a lot of. Nobody who can afford it will dislike this wine.

‘Traditional Gran Reserva – plenty of mushroom and damp cellar notes along with smoke and savoury red fruit. Clean and elegant. Gorgeous.’ Mattia Mazzi

‘Red/black fruit with layers of mint, eucalyptus and baking spices. Great length.’ Beatrice Bessi

‘Concentrated cranberry and loganberry fruit with delicate hints of meat, herbs and black tea. Would work well in a preservation system.’ Robert Mason