A well visited station, with excellent links to other wines
Ree-och-ah
Red
Official Name
Rioja is one of those wines that everybody seems to love. It has a sweet smoothness to it, which comes from the warm climate and use of American oak barrels, which gives the wine a hint of vanilla. The wines are classified so you know how long they’ve spent in barrel; joven is the youngest, fruitiest style and then Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva have all been aged for longer respectively, which makes the wine smoother and richer… Rioja is always made with the Tempranillo grape, giving it a unique strawberry flavour.
Things you should know
Top Tip: Look out for wines from the Rioja Alta region, they tend to have a fresher flavour and more layers of flavour, making them great food wines.
Specific Food Match: Rioja's smoothness makes it a good all rounder. The traditional companion is lamb but we think it can cope with everything from steaks to bigger fish dishes.