All the medal-winning wines from The Rioja Masters

While the region’s traditional wines are a reliable source of excellence, a new wave of disruptive creations wowed the judges at the Rioja Masters 2022, writes Patrick Schmitt MW.

For a region with such a traditional image, Rioja is remarkably dynamic. Those wire-clad bottles with their classic yellow labels and gothic script in fact belie a part of the wine world that’s evolved to meet the demands of a wide range of consumers, and to keep pace with their changing tastes. At the same time, Rioja has managed to amass and retain a following at the mainstream, conservative end of the market – an area that’s not easy to draw in, nor to hold onto. And the secret to Rioja’s success stems from a triumvirate of attributes.

The first relates to the region’s marriage of a memorable name and a distinctive, appealing and consistent style. Rioja is famous, and yields wines that rarely fail to deliver a lovely combination of juicy red berry fruit, dry tannins and fresh acidity. These are wines that are neither thin nor confected, but fully ripe and bright.

The second concerns the exceptional price-to-quality ratio that you regularly get with Rioja. There are large quantities of complex and balanced wines on the shelf from this region that retail for under £10, while fine, aged and more concentrated expressions, often fully mature, can be had for £25 or under. So Rioja offers a reliable quality and style, and it’s good value.

As for the third positive trait, that relates to the extraordinary diversity of Rioja. This is an area that has a recognised quality tiering system, based around barrel and bottle ageing. Due to this, it yields wines that can be Beaujolais-like Jovens – or brick-red, evolved Gran Reservas that offer an elegant, unique drinking experience that is so rarely found outside this part of Spain. While such mature styles tend to be based on long ageing in American oak barrels, there is a new wave of more ‘modern’ Rioja too. Generally richer, more tannic and aged in new French oak, these show another face of the region – and one that would appeal to the sipper of the great, bold reds of the world, from Super Tuscans to California Cabernets.

Beyond that, Rioja can offer yet more. There are also single-vineyard and/or single-varietal bottlings (which are often very old-vine expressions), along with crisp, pale rosados and delicate, inexpensive fresh whites – not forgetting the barrel-fermented blancos with depth and cellaring potential. In almost all cases, the basis of such greatness is Tempranillo – the signature grape for the region’s reds and rosés, but also, increasingly, whites too, with the newly-authorised Tempranillo Blanco producing outstanding results.

So, what were the highlights from this year’s competition? To begin, inexpensive Crianzas with their vanilla and cherry characters were a notable element, proving that those looking for instantly appealing reds sub-£10 should consider this category of Rioja – and if you want proof, try Castillo De Albai.

For a bit more spice, depth and maturity, Reserva Rioja is the most reliable source of premium wine from the region – but prices range widely, from about £10 for a brilliant-value example from Bodegas La Eralta to almost £100 when it comes to the benchmark: Bodegas Remírez de Ganuza.

As for the Gran Reservas, these can be great, but there is more variation here in style and quality. But at £25, the expression from Monte Real is a remarkable, reliable and deliciously traditional taste of this classic style. Some of this year’s most exciting categories, however, weren’t among these long-standing and well-known age segments. Found within the Vinos de Autor (signature wines) is an area of rule-breaking Rioja. These are usually a sort of souped-up, rebel Rioja – with more concentration and new oak – that are Spain’s answer to Super Tuscans, which is why I refer to them as Super Riojas. What makes them thrill tends to be the sourcing, with such wines bottled to express particular sites, usually with very old vines, sometimes at high altitudes.

They are often varietal wines, and occasionally field blends, released without the extended ageing required of Gran Reservas, ensuring they offer intense fruit flavours. Lovely examples include those from Ollauri, Altos de Rioja and Rolland & Galaretta, although almost every Rioja in this category gained a Gold medal or higher. That is unprecedented. Finally, I was enthused by the whites now emerging from Rioja. Some outstanding examples came from Manuel Quintano, Rioja Vega and Ysios, using native grapes and barrel ageing to yield nutty, zesty blancos with so much appeal now, but ageing potential too. Those drinkers priced out of the market for Bourgogne Blanc might do well to look towards Rioja, where the best producers successfully unite fine oak and citrus flavours to create a wine that would appeal to the longstanding sipper of fine Chardonnay.

As I noted at the outset, Rioja is far from staid and, in my view, the most exciting changes right now concern the region’s barrel-fermented whites and disruptive reds – both of which deserve the term Super Rioja.

Here are the results from The Global Rioja Masters in full, and to see an in-depth report on the latest developments in Spain’s wine scene, please click here.

About the competition

The Rioja Masters is a competition created and run by the drinks business, and is an extension of its successful Masters series for grape varieties, such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as well as other regions such as Champagne and Tuscany. The competition is exclusively for Rioja wine, and the entries were judged using Schott Zwiesel Cru Classic glasses supplied by Sensible Wine Services. The top wines were awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medals according to their result, and those expressions that stood out as being outstanding received the ultimate accolade – the title of Rioja Master.

The entries were judged on 20 September at Humble Grape in Fleet Street, London. The judges were Patrick Schmitt MW, Andrea Briccarello, Conal R Gregory MW, Keith Isaac MW, Adam Porter MW, Patricia Stefanowicz MW, Siobhan Turner MW and Demetri Walters MW. Please visit The Global Masters website for more information or, to enter future competitions, please call +44 (0)20 7803 2420 or email Sophie Raichura at: sophie@thedrinksbusiness.com