At a little over 66,000ha, Rioja isn’t Spain’s largest wine region by some way, but it is unquestionably its most famous. Traditionally, Rioja wines have been largely defined by their ageing regimes, classified from joven (young) to gran reserva in an ascending scale of time spent in both barrel and bottle – a scale that still has relevance today, despite an increasing focus on terroir and fresher wines.
History and tradition are incredibly important in Rioja, as you might imagine for a region with its official designation dating back to 1925. But now a younger generation of winemakers, keen to explore the terroir of Rioja, is producing some spectacular wines.
