Rioja Super Saturday

A classical, typical Rioja Alta red with elegant notes of vanilla, coconut, smoked spices and strawberries. Refined and suave, with fine tannins and a long, creamy finish. Juicy and elegant. Really approachable now, but give it two more years to get more mushroom complexity. (93) ZEKUN SHUAI, JamesSuckling.com

The 2020 Reserva Viña Alberdi is 100% Tempranillo sourced from various sites in Rioja Alta. Aged first in new American oak and then in used barrels, it offers ripe red fruit, a hint of jam and balsamic notes, with vanilla-laced oak in the background. Agile on the palate, with gentle grip and a soft, silky texture, this closes with lingering fruit and a subtle oak imprint. The 2020 is a warm-vintage classic. JOAQUIN HIDALGOI, Vinous

Claríto is a tribute to the deep traditions of Rioja, updated perhaps. ‘Back in the day’ such wines were the epitome of a Village Rioja. In little towns, a small amount of Viura would trickle in, but it would take days to fill a press, so it was ‘little-by-little’ adding whatever correctly-picked fruit came in until a batch was ready, first white then later some red.

In 2022, the Viura was picked (September 14th), de-stemmed and macerated for 3 days or so until the red was ready to pick. This was added as 100% whole bunch Garnacha atop the white. After a couple of days co-maceration, it was gently pressed to a yield of just 65%. The young Clarete must was then left to ferment spontaneously in combination of a 3,200L raw concrete vat and a 2,000L stainless tank. Working with lots of skins, the fermentation started easily and was done in 8 days. The young wine and its fine lees were then aged in gorgeous raw concrete cubes for 8 months (a portion aged in a single old 1,000 litre foudre), stirred occasionally to protect from reduction During this time, natural malolactic conversion happens to create balance and palate structure. No sulphur additions are made to the wine.

The subtle orange look of Claríto ‘22 is matched on the nose with a line of tangerine skin. This fragrance plays beautifully around an air of ‘dust in a Rioja vineyard’, along with faded roses. Dried silage (including a hint of pickle) and sea shell smells tell of Viura grown in chalk. The nose is deep, bell-clear, like smelling the water in a well, many feet down, below the dust, the heat, the haze. Cool and still. The throat develops a deep compulsive tickle of desire to swallow. One is drawn in. In the mouth, there’s savoury roundness backlit citric with orange and golden persimmon, crabapples, brushed steel earthiness, faded florals. Steel magnolias and cherry skins in short. It’s edged by deep chalky minerality and run through with tangible energy … a circle with a line through it. Plenty of skinsy-tannin mouthfeel gives ungrippy grip, presence without tension.

 

65% Garnacha, 30% Tempranillo and 5% Graciano
Aromas of tomato jam, rosehip and beetroot are joined by hints of violet and potpourri. Dry and undeniably alluring, it opens with a slightly broad entry before tightening on the mid-palate, where fine-grained tannins and a modern Rioja profile emphasize primary fruit while keeping good structure. Attractive and confidently styled. JOAQUIN HIDALGO

… juicy and fruit-driven style, with good ripeness…It is tender and tasty, with a velvety palate. The uncrushed grapes fermented in stainless steel, concrete and oak, and the Garnacha aged in concrete and the Tempranillo in oak vats. LUIS GUTIERREZ

Tempranillo, graciano
Artuke may be based in Baños de Ebro, but the bodega sources this pairing of Tempranillo and 10% Graciano from 30 different parcels in Ábalos, much closer to the Sonsierra. Aged in older wood, it's always slightly firmer than Arturo de Miguel's other reds, at least in its youth, with lots of grip and sinew, cranberry acidity, plum and damson fruit and a top note of subtle, stony reduction. 2027-37 (95) TIM ATKIN MW

The 2023 Pies Negros is a blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano from Ábalos, Rioja. Deep purple in hue, it offers aromas of blackberry, sour cherry, forest floor and a touch of pomegranate. Juicy and plush, with reactive tannins and a lingering red fruit-tinged finish, this is a flavorful, energetic red. JOAQUIN HIDALGOI, Vinous

35+ year old vines, fermented at 28 degrees in stainless and macerated 28 days before a standard ageing of 12 months in mixed US/French oak. From a truly great vintage, the Rioja-versus-Bodega conundrum is fully in play here. Is it a great tempranillo from a specific vineyard in a characteristic village, or is it the product of oak treatment in a winery? It is of course, more-or-less the best of both worlds, if you believe in having your cake and eating it too. Let's go Alice in Wonderland here.

Red currant berries in dry leaf scatter and a balsamic touch are the hallmarks of Urbina, with dried tobacco leaf, dehydrated cherry and gentle earthiness clearly locating this wine by estate characteristics. Orange peel, scrubland, incense/dark tea, whisps of lavender and fennel. The palate has great balance between estate and winery, fruit and structure. With excellent development, there's plenty of freshness for the future. Just mid-weight, with some nice dark characters, balsam and spice. There are no excesses of fruit, glycerol or oak, all work together to affect a very classy Rioja-Bordeaux.

The 2023 Garnacha de Altura La Dula from Ribas de Tereso is open and expressive aromatically, combining rose, soft violet, potpourri and Mediterranean herbs. Juicy and agile on the palate, it is driven by lively acidity and a silky flow. Very fine tannins provide energy and subtle grip without disturbing the texture. A Garnacha of pedigree, it is poised between the ethereal and the powerful, yet above all precise. (93) JOAQUIN HIDALGOI, Vinous

Sandra Bravo’s 2023 Rioja Garnacha de Altura bottling is crafted entirely from garnacha vines that are more than eighty years-old. The wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts in old foudres and aged entirely in clay amphorae prior to bottling. The 2023 version comes in at 13.5 percent octane and offers up a superb bouquet of red and black raspberries, a bit of fruitcake, a nice touch of meatiness, stony soil tones, a lovely array of Rioja spice tones and just a touch of amphora influence. On the palate the wine is deep, young and full-bodied, with a superb core of old vine fruit, fine soil inflection and grip, firm, chewy tannins and a long, complex and well balanced finish. This is still a very young wine and is going to need plenty of cellaring time to soften up, but it will be a very tasty bottle once it is ready to drink. 2035-2065+. JOHN GILMAN, View From The Cellar

Very subtle nose of cranberries, lavender, rosemary and stone. The palate is medium-bodied, delicate and detailed, with an ethereal sense of fruit. From head-pruned vineyards of different ages. Aged for 12 months in concrete without epoxy, followed by time in barrique in a cave. A blend of 75% tempranillo, 20% garnacha and 5% white varieties. Drink now. (95) JACOBO GARCIA-ANDRADE LLAMAS, JamesSuckling.com

The 2020 Reserva, which could be labeled Selección Especial in some markets, reflects the house style, which is somewhere between tradition and modernity, keeping the character and typicity with good ripeness, controlled extraction, a certain elegance and integrated oak. It's elegant, perfumed and floral, quite showy, more developed and complex this time, medium- to full-bodied, with fine tannins and a polished palate. It doesn't lack ripeness—it has 14.5% alcohol—but it keeps the balance and poise with integrated acidity and a soft texture. It matured in French oak barrels, one-third new, for 19 months and then spent a further 12 months in concrete until bottling. It's harmonious and balanced, with power and elegance. 80,000 bottles were produced in January 2024. (93) LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate

The 2020 Reserva Valenciso from Rioja Alta was aged for 18 months in oak. The first wine produced by winemaker José Hernández, it opens with pure red fruit aromas and a touch of white pepper. Juicy with active tannins, medium volume and a slight sense of tension, this is a direct, fruit-driven style. JOAQUIN HIDALGOI, Vinous

Laderas de Cabama comes from a single, high-altitude Tempranillo vineyard planted on classic clay-limestone soils above Ollauri. Recent vintages have seen the wine deliberately steered towards a brighter, more fruit-driven style, with earlier picking, partial whole-berry fermentation and maturation in older French oak preserving the purity of the fruit. The result is a wonderfully energetic Rioja with vibrant cherry and blackberry fruit, fine chalky tannins and a freshness that sets it apart from more traditional examples. It perfectly captures the exciting evolution taking place in Rioja today—wines that remain unmistakably Rioja but place vineyard character and drinkability firmly at centre stage.

El Bernate comes from a tiny, 90-year-old parcel of Malvasía Riojana in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, planted on limestone-rich soils that naturally lend tension and minerality to the wine. Malvasía accounts for only around 2% of Rioja's white vineyard area, making this a genuine rarity. Fermented and matured for 12 months in a concrete egg, the wine captures the variety's floral perfume alongside citrus, white peach and a distinctive chalky, stony finish. It's a fascinating expression of Rioja that sits well outside the region's traditional mould and perfectly demonstrates why the modern white wines of Rioja are generating so much excitement.

The 2024 Blanco is made from old-vine Viura planted in Ribas de Tereso, Rioja. Fennel, wild herbs and a note of soft green apple lead the nose. On the palate, it is intense, precise and fresh, with a lightly creamy texture gently shaped by soft chalky tension. The profile leans modern for the region, balancing a crisp edge with subtle creaminess and clear flavor definition. Within its category, it also offers very strong value. JOAQUIN HIDALGOI, Vinous

The eponymous red 2023 Sierra de Toloño wants to reflect the power and freshness of the Sierra Cantabria. It's the entry-level red, produced in a simple way and with a straightforward profile and style but serious and with a chalky texture and a dry finish. In 2023, she had to pick early because of the very warm temperatures in August, but through viticulture and soil management, she achieved a wine with freshness and contained ripeness, aided by some rain in September. It's from vineyards in Ribas de Tereso, fermented in stainless steel at low temperature with indigenous yeasts and matured in neutral 225-liter barrels and amphorae for eight months. It has 13.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.67 and 5.2 grams of acidity, which are pretty "normal" parameters for a fresh, Atlantic red. 30,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2024. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate

The 2023 Tempranillo from Ribas de Tereso opens with delicate herbs—thyme and rosemary—that add a balsamic lift over black fruit and a hint of pink grapefruit, enlivening the nose. On the palate, it is supple yet structured, with light chalk and gentle grip delivering juicy tension and definition. Slightly compact in feel, as befits Sonsierra reds, it remains focused and well shaped. JOAQUIN HIDALGOI, Vinous

Who would imagine that a white wine from the southern part of the Rioja Oriental could taste as good as this? Viura is the dominant grape, with the remaining 50% made up of Pasera, Tempranillo Blanco and Garnacha Roja. Jasmine and chamomile aromas lead you into a palate of citrus, crème fraîche, blanched almond, subtle aromatic spices and a chalky, mouth-watering finish. (94) TIM ATKIN MW Rioja Report 2025

Costumbres is Carlos Mazo's crowd-pleasing, whole bunch-fermented red, produced from a classic Rioja Oriental blend of Garnacha and 10% Tinta Velasco, Pasera and Tempranillo. Sourced from six parcels in Alfaro, Aldeanueva, Autol and Rincón de Soto, this is tangy, juicy and bursting with summer berry flavours, textured tannins and undertones of clove and tobacco leaf. (93) TIM ATKIN MW, Rioja Report 2025

Real Agrado was started by agricultural engineer Juan Manuel Domínguez in 1974. Since 2006, Julian Ayuga has run the show. As a former consultant, winemaker, and member of the DOC Rioja Appellation tasting committee, Julian is highly regarded, and he has mentored many young and uprising wine folk in Rioja today. At 72 years of age, he proudly claims that nobody alive has opened more bottles of Rioja than him!

Grown in the cold, high chalky-clays of the Las Planas vineyard, bush vine fruit is hand harvested and controlled-temperature fermented in small stainless tanks, with 3 months on lees before bottling.

This is classical European "anything and everything wine" in the ilk of Vernacchia, Verdicchio, Trebbiano ... Modest, but far from neutral, undemonstratively happy to play support act to all sorts of food, laughter and communing at table. Floral, stone fruit, a touch nutty with fine clay-chalk underpinnings. Fresh and neat with plenty of mouthfeel and acidity, alive, with shape, taper and run.

80% Garnacha and 20% Tempranillo from La Lobera and Canterabuey, planted in 1992 and 1975 respectively, fermented separately in stainless steel. It’s a wine with a real south-to-north Riojan dialectic, Garnacha carrying the torch and handing it to Tempranillo to finish. It transitions from herbal Garnacha reaching skyward, and settles to some fleshy Tempranillo depth. Interplay and balance key this clever simple wine. Against ‘normal’ perceptions of the region, it’s Rioja upside down, south to north..

Vibrant purple-red, with light, fruity and spicy Garnacha in a floral-heather-herb nose. It’s fresh, with delicate raspberry and red cherry transitioning to bramble, boysenberry, violet and a touch of cola. It’s a mile from raspberry jube, but there is a really neat line of dusty raspberry powder. Just below medium weight, restrained and savoury, it has good feel, running long and low in the mouth. It’s open and easy but with the structure necessary for presence and persistence.

Currently, this is a genuine single vineyard release from ‘el Rincon’. However, this wine is going to get other new parcel plantings in it from time to time, so we are happy to ‘de-classify’ it ongoing as a village wine, while it fosters younger vines of Tempranillo and Garnacha through to an age where they can contribute to or become wines higher up the scale. ‘El Rincon’ lies on the hillside ‘la Dehesa’, with a very cool easterly orientation. To get our Spanish appellation language skills up to the point, this makes it’s correction location ID Parcela ‘el Rincon’ del Paraje ‘la Dehesa’. It’s 1.34 ha of Tempranillo with about 6% Graciano-Garnacha in clay-calcareous soils.

A classic Riojan mix of berry, floral spice and balsamic maturity, earthen, true-hearted, pure. There are gorgeous tiny mulberries, perfectly set like little gems in a bed of heather, with touches of cola, cocoa and graphite. In fact, there’s more than one fruit-in-miniature gem inset here: small sour plums continue the atlantic blue feels, while teensy mini-boysenberries dance in a little red spectrum, perhaps thanks to the Graciano. Flavour words aside, the fruit quality is evinced by perfectly ripened sweet seeds without any glyceric heft at all. It’s mid-weight and maintains a lovely line, beautifully formed without evident muscularity, the tannins glide-not-thrust and with fine, textural natural acid, it’s all elegant and easy.

Whole bunch Tempranillo with tiny proportions of Garnacha and Viura from ‘younger’ vines, a mere 50+ years old. Temperature-controlled (26C) 8 day fermentation in stainless after 3 day carbonic maceration, pressed to malo then into bottle. Unfined. ‘Chulato’ is a parcela (single vineyard) within a paraje (equivalent to a lieu-dit) called Chulato de Ábalos. This is not quite a single vineyard wine however, as the yield from Chulato is augment with some fruit from neighouring pueblo, San Vicente. Chulato was planted in 1972. 2022 was an ‘interesting harvest’ … very dry during ripening, but with a jolt of freshening rain late … the pink was picked Sept 17, while Chulato hung until October 12.

Brightly-fruited but with no sense at all of tutti-fruity confection. Gentian, wild cherry, lots of mountain herb; orange tea, bergamot, rose musk, rhubarb. The palate is similar, tea-inflected little tart berries carry spice and flesh, nice and lively. Chalky, papery, talcy tannins, acid-fresh.