THE VERDICT

Rioja gran reserva can be a confusing category, but it does deliver consistent quality and is an accessible starting point for those who want to learn about aged wines. Julie Sheppard reports

Although the gran reserva category has basic parameters (see p105), there is still considerable variation in its wines. Winemakers can choose to age their gran reservas for longer, and wines are also increasingly being made in a variety of styles.

In a tasting that encompassed a range of vintages from 2001 to 2015, this diversity was even more pronounced – and it was the first thing that tasters commented on. ‘Gran reserva used to be a small category, but you knew what you were getting. Now I think it’s much more confusing,’ said Sarah Jane Evans MW.

‘You have 24 months in oak or you have 36 months in oak; you have American oak or French oak. We used to expect gran reserva to be a truffly, mushroomy wine, with a lovely maturity developing, some slightly paler colours around the edges. But in fact, in this tasting we found darkcoloured wines, with a lot of really intense primary fruit,’ she added.

‘I know that the styles are changing – and golly you could see here that gran reserva is really, really changing. Some of the winemakers are clearly making gran reservas for a modern consumer palate. But with some of them I thought: “Is this really Rioja?”’

Christine Parkinson agreed. ‘It is confusing for people. All of these wines are on current release: some are youthful, full of vim and vigour and fruit; others are delicate, autumnal and evolved. The styles are widely different, though so many are delicious,’ she added. ‘Without doubt this is now a category where you need to take advice before you buy the wine, or you need to be prepared to have something that will be delicious but may be completely different from what you may have expected.’

Beth Willard noted that the quality was consistent. ‘I think it’s really important that just about everything was at bronze medal standard and above,’ she said. ‘What I thought shone through was that, within the wines that showed great typicity for Rioja, we were tasting 100% Tempranillo or blends with Graciano and Mazuelo, or in some the Garnacha came through beautifully. So we were tasting a range of flavours which perfectly expressed the region and put us very firmly in Rioja.’

All of our tasters agreed that the older vintages were more satisfying. ‘The tasting showed that when gran reserva Rioja gets some substantial age, it really does undergo a magical transformation,’ said Parkinson. ‘It becomes an utterly distinctive thing. Age is a really key component in these wines.’ Evans added: ‘The 2001, 2005, 2010, even 2009, and then the 2011s were all showing well.’

‘The styles are widely different, though so many are delicious’

Christine Parkinson

What about price to quality ratio? ‘A gran reserva of a particular age will usually be better value than a comparative style or level of quality from another country,’ noted Willard. ‘One of the advantages with Rioja is that so many wineries do actually hold back their wines to the point where it’s the right moment to release. You don’t need to buy a 2019 Bordeaux en primeur when you can buy a 2011

Rioja, for a fraction of the price, that’s almost ready to drink.’

‘It’s so thrilling to be able to have really genuinely quite affordable wines that are all about age,’ agreed Parkinson. ‘For someone who is fairly early in their journey of wine appreciation, and may not have a huge budget, I think there’s so much more reward in spending time getting to know the different producers, styles and vintages of Rioja than there is in trying to achieve the same, certainly in Burgundy or Bordeaux.’

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit Rioja gran reserva reds from any vintage, with availability in the UK

Decanter average score: 96/100pts Individual judges’ scores: Sarah Jane Evans MW 95 Christine Parkinson 95 Beth Willard 97 £168-£188/magnum

Crump Richmond Shaw, Seckford Wines

Prado Enea is one of Muga’s flagship wines and is only made in exceptional years. Grapes for the wine are grown on the southern slopes of the Obarenes mountains and are fermented without the addition of cultured yeasts. Maturation is in two stages, with 12 months in large 160hl American oak vats followed by 36 months in smaller, mainly French oak barrels.

Sarah Jane Evans MW The nose is a lovely blend of fine heather, truffles and perfumed fruit, then there’s equally exotic character in the mouth: plush and plump with liquorice, oranges, blackcurrants, menthol. Altogether a fascinating wine, 20 years old, with lovely smoky complexity. Great respect for its age.

Christine Parkinson Super-spicy wine, with layers of cumin, frankincense and cardamom. Dense, chewy layers of texture, and a chocolatey orange core. Somehow, at the end, raspberries appear! Beth Willard A very traditional gran reserva with jammy strawberry fruit character, surprisingly (or perhaps not) fresh and fruity for a wine of this age, with caramel and burnt orange notes. Soft tannins, nothing dry or grippy, and a long, softly spicy finish.

Drink 2021-2031 Alcohol 14%