There’s a new post in the Observer newspaper by David Williams expaining it’s Rioja’s centenary as Spain’s first designated wine region, which offers a moment to reflect on both its heritage and its growing diversity.
The traditional, long-aged style, with its mellow savoury character and gentle notes of coconut, vanilla and tobacco, remains a defining pleasure and still delivers outstanding value in supermarket gran reservas. At the same time, a newer generation of wines is emerging, shaped by closer attention to vineyards, older vines and cooler upland sites, producing fresher, more vibrant expressions.
The region now showcases a wider array of grapes, with garnacha gaining visibility alongside tempranillo, and an increasing focus on refined white wines. Together, the old and new show a region more varied and confident than ever.
The wines mentioned are
- Morrisons The Best Marqués de los Ríos Gran Reserva Rioja 2015
- Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Gran Reserva 2018 by CVNE
- Tesco Finest Viña del Cura Gran Reserva 2018 by Barón de Ley
- Viña Ecay Organic Crianza Rioja 2021
- Bodegas Aldonia 100 Rioja 2021
- Conde de Valdemar Rioja Blanco Finca Alto Cantabria 2023
The article shows an increasingly common quirk in newspaper wine writing, where specific bottles are presented as if they were headings, yet instead of finding detailed notes beneath them you are met with broader commentary about the region. It creates an odd sense of misdirection and makes you wonder whether it is simply a device to keep readers engaged with the general text, or a workaround for writers who have been instructed to only highlight wines.
There is also the issue of the photograph, which adds to the sense of inconsistency. It shows Morrisons The Best Marqués de los Ríos Reserva Rioja rather than the Gran Reserva being discussed. The Gran Reserva carries a black label, shown above, not a red one. Having reviewed this wine, the 2014 was actually exceptional, whereas the 2015 does not reach the same level.
