The Rioja wine region is withour a doubt the most famous of all of Spain's Demoninations of Origin. Rioja is also oneof only two DOCa's of Spain, te highest category of protected origin in the Spanish Hierarchy. Though Vino de Pago is considered by some to be the top quality category, it is not so in practice. Furthermore the Vino de Pago applies to specific estates rather than broad regions of production. We will discuss this further in a more specific article and I only mention it here in case you encounter someone who claims that what is written here is not correct. On that point, there are no Vino de Pago in the Rioja DOCa. The Rioja makes primarily red wines from Tempranillo, Garnacha Tinta and Mazuelo. The region is divided into three major sections: the Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental (formerly Rioja Baja, a anme change that occurred for no good reason. The DOCa also produces a small amount of high quality white wines, primarily based on Viura and some very nice rose wines. Additionally there is a small portion of the vineyards approved for the production of Cava sparkling wines. The story of how Rioja came to be the most prominenent wine producing region of Spain goes back to the 19th century and the Phylloxera scourge in France. The Carlist war in Spain had winners and losers and two Marquis found themselves on the wrong side. The Marquis de Murrieta and Marquis de Riscal, both had ventured in to France and later took up asylum there until thngs cooled off in Spain. During their visits and then temporary stay, they learned winemaking in the Bordeaux region. In particular the benefit of using small oak barrels known as barrique to raise the wine up in the cellar. The early knowledge of "modern" winemaking practices learned in France, gave the Marquis and the Rioja region a distinct advantage upon their return. Phylloxera ht French vineyards starting in the early 1860's and the devastation forced many winemakers to flee and find work elsewhere, one such place was Northern Spain's Rioja region. Bodegas after Bodegas began to spring up and the modern winemaking techniques quickly distinguished Rioja wines into its elite position. The wines of Riscal and other won medals in International competitions throughout the latter part of the 19th century and sealed Rioja as the quality leading region for Spain. Tempranillo is the signature grape of Rioja especially at the higher and cooler elevations of the Alta and Alavesa but Garnacha Tinta (Grenache Noir) also produces high quality grapes at the lower and hotter elevations throughout the three regions but most noteably in the Baja or Eastern section now called the Oriental. The styles of Rioja wine share certain afinities but there are noticable differences between producers, the three sub-regions and the numerous cuvees released by most producers, partly due to the variance in aging regimens and the specific oak used in the maturation process. Rioja has four levels of quality. The basic Rioja may see little or no oak elevage and was known as Joven or "young" but now called Generica, kind of like Barolo using the term Normale. Not very flattering or wise from a marketing standpoint. I guess I would have opted for something more along the lines of "Cuvee de Casa" or "Cuvee de Bodegas" but they never asked me, so there is that! Most Rioja is a blend of grapes coming from two or three of the sub-regions with the aim to achieve balance and complexity of flavor and a measure of year on year consistency. Some of these are mono-varietals but most are blends of two or three of the prominent grapes. The "classic" Rioja displays red fruits or black fruits, dried floral notes and spice, especially with oak elevage, earthy notes of wild herbs, stoney minerality and tertiary notes of cured meats, leather, licorice, chocolate, cocoa, caramel, tobacco and other complexities. Joven Rioja is bright wit soft tannins favoring red fruit and fruitier aromatics and are meant for early consumption. These wines are best drunk within the first year or so of release. Crianza is the next level up and many of these wines retain much of the fruit forward style of Joven wines but the mandatory oak aging imparts more complexityand they will generally express some dark fruit elements, spice, earthier notes and some tertiary nuances with bottle age. They can be enjoyed young or over 3-4 years as they evolve. Reserva wines express more secondary and tertiary elements from extended aging and will have more tannin and a deeper flavor profile, having loss most of the youthful stylings of either Joven or Crianza wines. Gran Reservas are even more tertiary in nature with clear secondary elements from the advance pre-release aging regimen and are generally ready to enjoy upon release but will improve noticeably with mid to longer tern cellaring. The higher the Granacha and Mazuelo content the broader the palette will be, especially when it is younger and Garnacha provides higher alcohol and a "sweetness" to the palate. Producers other than the Marques de Riscal and Marques de Murrieta include Campo Viejo, La Rioja Alta's Vina Alberdi, Cune, Bodegas Lan, Baron de Ley, Muga, Torres, Beronia and Marques de Caceres offer reliable Crianza and Reserva level wines at reasonable prices. The Rioja region has also gone the route that Italians in Tuscany took in the 1970's and 1980's and created a sort of Super-Rioja that allowed them more leeway in winemaking regimens, so many of the top wines are simply bottled under the base Rioja DOCG. Examples are Artadi's Vina el Pison or Marques de Riscal's Baron de Chirel.The list of top cuvees from some of these and many others are too lengthy to mention here but are covered in subsequent article on the Rioja region.