Tasting Rioja blind is an enticing exercise. Typicity is very important but one must decide which typicity we are speaking about. The old style of long-aged Gran Reservas? The amazingly fruity profile of very young selections? The special way in which many single vineyards are expressed, with moderate ripeness and lots of floral scents? The sound and balanced profile of the best brands? A mix of two or more styles? A free style that nonetheless shows a Rioja familiarity? Ripe, warm Garnacha-based wines or light and fresh ones? Black-fruit Tempranillo versions, red cherry ones or something in-between? American-oaked, coconut-scented wines or French-oaked spicy ones? Wines made to be drunk on their fruit or wines promising a complex development in the cellar?

I think there is no such thing as ‘tasting Rioja’ – better instead to think of tasting wines of the world with a Rioja flair. There are two sound reasons for that, the nature and the people.

Concerning nature, Rioja is large. The distance between Haro, in the western part of the appellation, and Alfaro, at the eastern tip, is more than 100km. Many different soils are found in such a large area and in any case, the region’s topography is very particular. It is quite permeably separated from the Atlantic regions by the Sierra Cantabria, so there is significant influence from the humid and tempered Atlantic climate. It is placed along the Ebro, the river with the greatest flow in Spain, whose valley acts as a duct for the Mediterranean climate into the northwest of Spain. That climate, warm and dry during most of the season, can also condition Rioja vineyards. Finally, in geographic terms, Rioja is on the edge of the huge Castilian plateau, characterised by its continental climate, which sees high temperature variation during the day and the year.

Depending on the sub-region and on the overall climate, there are Rioja vintages that are more Mediterranean, as 2004 or 2011, others which are more Atlantic, as 2006 or 2018, some that are more continental, as 2012 or 2017, and finally those which are simply perfect: 2001 or 2010. Vintages are important in Rioja.

Enough of nature. Concerning people, Rioja is a magnet for either curious or adventurous wine lovers making wine. It is one of the rare Spanish regions in which the generational transition is taking place successfully. Many young people experiment with a variety of topics, from understanding specific vineyards to playing with advanced picking, from minimising oak influence to refining the most classic styles to unprecedented levels, from using rescued grape varieties to experimenting with very late releases… and much more. This is a land of creativity.

From this year’s report, I would first like to highlight the finest brand. Rioja became great thanks to brands; nowadays they still are a crucial pillar for its prestige. This year, Marqués de Riscal’s XR sits at the top. This is a wine that absolutely must be tasted blind. Then, one needs to see the label, and to try to guess how such a level of excellence can be achieved at such volumes – more than 200,000 bottles. Named after the 19^th century acronym for selecting the best barrels, XR can compete advantageously with wines several times more expensive; it also has what is needed for long and slow improvement in cellar.

There are more than 25 jewels in this tasting and I’ll highlight several of them here. El Arca by Queirón, because it is a sublime expression of ripe Garnacha with great complexity and unbelievable depth, and is destined for perfection in a few years’ time. Aro by Muga, because I have very rarely tasted a wine in its youth that is already so complete, with the capacity to gain even more refinement after many years in bottle.

I conclude by picking out a few other wines that represent great value, on top of outstanding quality:

• Roda I’s 2007: This vintage is not particularly good, and is not one I would select for cellaring. In a very brave and self-confident gesture, Agustín Santolaya presented this wine for blind tasting. The result is flabbergasting, demonstrating that Roda is synonymous with reliability at the top level.
• Santalba 25 Vendimia: An amazing blend of 25 vintages, showing something of very old Riojas with nice freshness. A virtuoso wine.
• Viñedos de Sonsierra Viñas Viejas: A top Rioja Alavesa made by a co-op. It’s vivid proof of excellence by co-ops.
• Torres de Oña El Camino: The most refined Alavesa single-vineyard wine I have tasted so far, a wine bound for perfection.
• 200 Monges Gran Reserva white: An amazing wine imbued with classicism but enhanced with modern precision.

Another year of the Rioja Report and another all-too-short space to fully describe an exhilarating tasting. As usual, I give more importance to words than to numbers; please take my scores as an approximation and my words as an opinion.

Tasting notes and scores from The Rioja Report 2025 (featuring only those wines scoring 90 points and above) are available to all registered users of The Collection, the online home of our premium wine and spirits content. To register, click here.