We’ve rounded up 10 brilliant Riojas from this year’s Rioja Masters competition, taking in the top-scorers from a range of styles including white and red, young and old, while revealing some bargains on sale right now.

Our 10-strong selection below has been chosen to highlight the wonders of Rioja, which manages to craft inexpensive, fruity and juicy reds at amazing prices; serious, concentrated drops for important occasions, and fine, fully-mature, unique wines without charging the earth.

It’s also why our featured wines incorporate those that have spent barely any time ageing in oak barrels to those that have benefitted from several years, and it’s why the bottles below include some that are priced a little more than £5, to others than cost almost 20 times that sum.

So, if you are in search of something fine and fresh, or rich and concentrated, then read the tasting notes below to find the ideal wine for your tastes. Meanwhile, if you desire something inexpensive, then look carefully at the prices, although the wines that follow are loosely ordered to run from the cheapest to priciest.

Finally, while the labels below were chosen to draw attention to the diversity of wines on offer from Rioja today, each one of them has been independently assessed by a range of experienced wine judges without any knowledge of the producer.

And to find out more about the judging process, and to see all the medallists from this year’s Rioja Masters, then click here.

10. Eguren Ugarte, Blanco Reserva, 2017 

In a region so famous for its red wines, it’s easy to forget that Rioja makes white wines too. In keeping with its approach to reds, the whites tend to undergo an extended period of ageing in barrels, like this blanco reserva from Euguren Ugarte. After 13 months in French oak, this Garnacha Blanca and Viura blend takes on some of the characteristics from the wood, such as nuts and vanilla, along with aged honeyed flavours, before finishing with a touch of lemon zest and apple skin, giving it a refreshing bite, like any good mouth-cleansing white.

• Producer: Eguren Ugarte
• Grape variety: Viura and Garnacha Blanca
• ABV: 13%
• Vintage: 2017
• Approx. retail price: £15-£20

9. Faustino, Crianza 2017

You may associate Faustino with brilliant aged Riojas, above all gran reservas, but this crianza sets a very high standard for the category, with just a touch of cinnamon and chocolate from 12 months in American oak barrels, allied to fleshy red and dark berry fruit, with a touch of cranberry on the finish. It’s a great place to start exploring Rioja, and an inexpensive one too – all this pleasing vinous character can be had for under £10.

• Producer: Bodegas Faustino S.L.
• Grape variety: Tempranillo
• ABV: 13.5%
• Vintage: 2017
• Approx. retail price: Under £10

8. Baron Amarillo, Rioja Reserva

If someone asked you for a juicy, barrel-aged red for just under £6, you’d probably laugh, and suggest they double their outlay, but with this Rioja Reserva, sold exclusively in Aldi, that’s exactly what you get. While it may not be an especially complex wine, it has all the hallmarks of a good Rioja Reserva at twice the price, such as fleshy red fruit from crushed strawberry to a touch of cranberry, and plenty of sweet vanilla from the three years spent in barriques.

• Producer: Muriel Wines for Aldi Ireland
• Grape variety: Tempranillo
• ABV: 13.5%
• Vintage: 2016
• Approx. retail price: Under £5.50 (Aldi)
• Medal: Gold – The Rioja Masters 2020

7. Rioja Vega, Tinto Colección Tempranillo

Serving as a reminder of the diversity, quality and affordability on offer from Rioja is this red from Rioja Vega. Called Tinto Colección Tempranillo, and aged for nine months in American oak, it doesn’t fall into the region’s traditional classifications – even a Crianza must spend at least a full year in barrel – and is therefore billed as a Vino de Autor, or a winemaker’s signature wine. Due to its shorter-than-usual period in barrel, it has plenty of fleshy red cherry and plums, allied to a touch of vanilla from the brief contact with American oak. In short, it’s fruitier than your more usual aged Rioja, and richer and more complex than your most basic example, classed as ‘joven’. It’s also a great-value glass of wine, costing a touch over £10.

• Producer: Rioja Vega
• Grape variety: Tempranillo, Cencibel
• ABV: 13.5%
• Vintage: 2018
• Approx. retail price: £10 – £15
• Medal: Gold – The Rioja Masters 2020

6. Viña Valoria, Reserva 2014

If you want to try a textbook Rioja reserva for an extremely competitive price, then Viña Valoria is a brilliant place to go. Crammed with all the hallmarks of this popular Rioja style, it features plenty of ripe red cherry fruit and spice from the Rioja Alta-sourced Tempranillo, a touch of leather and sweet balsamic from the ageing process, and plenty of vanilla and dry tannin from the 30 months it spends in American oak barrels. Neither heavy nor thin, it makes for a surprisingly refreshing full-flavoured glass of red.

• Producer: Bodegas Valoria

• Grape variety: Tempranillo
• Abv: 13.5%
• Vintage: 2014
• Approx. retail price: £10 – £15
• Medal: Gold – The Rioja Masters 2020

5. Bodegas Ugalde, Gran Reserva, 2013

There aren’t many places in the world that craft fully mature wines with freshness, lightness, and layers of flavour for £20, but that’s exactly what you get with this gran reserva Rioja from Bodegas Ugalde. Hailing from the 2013 vintage, and having spent several years in barrels, it has an aged profile, with notes of leather, stewed red fruit, spice, citrus zest and balsamic, while benefitting from a persistent bright finish and some palate-cleansing dry tannins. It’s a delicious, great value and unique style of red.

• Producer: Bodegas Ugalde
• Grape variety: Tempranillo (75%), Graciano (20%), Mazuelo (5%)
• ABV: 14%
• Vintage: 2013
• Approx. retail price: £15-£20

4. Monte Real, Gran Reserva

Offering all the old fashioned appeal of Rioja, including quality, value for money and classic packaging, must be Monte Real, particularly when it comes to the Gran Reserva classification, which stipulates a minimum of five years ageing before release, two of which must be in barrels. Mixing flavours from vanilla to strawberry, spice to orange zest and a touch of sweet balsamic, along with plenty of mouth-cleansing tannins, this manages to successfully provide the drinker with fleshy, ripe fruit and a dry, fresh sensation, making for a delicious and surprisingly light style of red – not only that, but a layered, powerfully-flavoured, and mature drink for £20.

• Producer: Bodegas Riojanas
• Country: Spain
• Grape variety: Tempranillo
• ABV: 14%
• Vintage: 2013
• Approx. retail price: £20
• Medal: Gold – The Rioja Masters 2020

3. Bodegas Marqués de Cáceres, Generación MC, 2018

In the niche sector of winemaker signature wines, classified as vinos de autor in Rioja, the Generación MC from Bodegas Marqués de Cáceres is a shining example. Using only Tempranillo from low-yielding old vines in Rioja, it’s a concentrated red, with fleshy, ripe black cherry fruit, as well as flavours of white pepper, vanilla, cigar box, spice and a touch of sweet balsamic, along with an attractive refreshing mix of plums and fine dry tannins on the finish. It’s a powerful red with a bright kick, and a relatively affordable example of Rioja on steroids.

• Producer: Bodegas Marqués de Cáceres
• Grape variety: Tempranillo
• ABV: 14.5%
• Vintage: 2018
• Approx. retail price: £20
• Medal: Gold – The Rioja Masters 2020

2. Campillo 57 Gran Reserva 2012

We tasted plenty of fine Gran Reserva Riojas this year, but if I were asked to pick one that stood out as exceptional, then it would be the Campillo 57 from Bodegas Campillo. Aged for more than two years in French oak, it has attractive Bordeaux-esque aromatics, from cedar to cigar box, allied to fine Rioja’s delicious dark cherry and ripe plum characters and then its hallmark cranberry fresh finish. And, despite approaching eight years since it was bottled, this is a red with plenty of power, structure and brightness, meaning that it’s lovely to drink now, but also has the potential to age for many more years to come.

• Producer: Bodegas Campillo S.L.
• Grape variety: Tempranillo, Graciano
• ABV: 14%
• Vintage: 2012
• Approx. retail price: £40
• Medal: Master – The Rioja Masters 2020

1. Remírez de Ganuza Reserva

If you want the ultimate expression of Reserva Rioja, then Remírez de Ganuza will provide it. Buying this doesn’t come cheap, but this brilliant red – the flagship from the producer with a retail price around £80 – is on a par with the great fine wines of the world, where three figures sums for a single bottle are common, and sometimes four.

So what does the Remírez Reserva taste like? Using very old vine fruit, aged in a mixture of French and American oak, this is a concentrated, layered, and lifted glass of wine, with flavours ranging from soft, fleshy, dark cherry to vanilla and coconut, orange zest and sweet balsamic, while it has a gently chewy sensation on the finish, providing a lovely dry finale that encourages you to keep sipping, probably more quickly than you should.

• Producer: Remírez de Ganuza

• Grape variety: Tempranillo, Graciano
• ABV: 14.5%
• Vintage: 2006
• Approx. retail price: £80
• Medal: Master – The Rioja Masters 2020

About the competition

The wines listed above were all selected from 2020’s Rioja Masters, which is a competition created and run by the drinks business, and is an extension of its successful Masters series for grape varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as other regions such as Tuscany and Champagne, along with styles from rosé to sparkling. The competition is exclusively for Rioja wine, and the entries were judged using Schott Zwiesel Cru Classic glasses supplied by Wine Sorted.

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 9 and 10 November at the Novotel, London Bridge.

The judges in The Rioja Masters 2020 were Andrea Briccarello, David Round MW, Patricia Stefanowicz MW and Patrick Schmitt MW

Please visit The Global Masters website for more information, or, to enter future competitions – giving you the chance to feature online and in print – please call +44 (0) 20 7803 2420 or email Sophie Raichura at: sophie@thedrinksbusiness.com

Alternatively, click here to see all the medallists from this year’s competition.