Rioja Reserva and Gran Reserva wines show the best the region has to offer. Generally made in great vintages, these wines are meant to age for decades. Luckily, we don’t have to wait that long. Many of these wines are available nationwide at retailers, including some of the best vintages of the past twenty years.
We asked one of the region’s (fanatic) supporters, Wine Exchange retail merchant Kyle Meyer, to show us some deep Rioja love and get us ready for the holidays.
Why I Love Rioja
No other wine in the world consistently astounds me with its inherent value like Rioja. It astounded me the first time I enjoyed the simplest Tinto Jovens back in the mid-90’s. It astounded me when I tasted the great 1994 Rioja Reservas on release in the late 90’s. It astounded me when I tasted the great 1994 Gran Reservas at the turn of the millennium. It astounds me today.
How can Rioja create a compelling product from a noble grape variety (Tempranillo), age it for years prior to release, then charge such an extremely fair price?
I guess they’ve grown up with this way of doing business and, since the wines are the best they’ve been since Rioja’s halcyon days in the 50’s and 60’s, we get all the benefits of this Rioja-only way of aging, producing and marketing wines. It’s complex, it’s versatile and it’s always ready to go. I catch myself, in the context of the other 4,000+ wines I sell, drinking more and more wines from the Rioja region compared to other areas of the wine world.
Rioja addict?
Yes, and loving every minute of it. Here are my top picks in the Rioja DOCa Reserva and Gran Reserva categories.
About Kyle Meyer
Tasted well north of 60,000 wines in 25 years as a wine buyer. Intense travel to the world’s great wine regions. Featured in the Los Angeles Times, Details, and his personal blog The Extract (YouTube). Kyle is a partner and Director of Purchasing for Wine Exchange and Winex.com.
Consejo Regulador Denominación Origen Calificada Rioja Calle Estambrera, 52, 26006 Lorgono La Rioja Spain