A guide to the Rioja classifications system and the styles of their wines

June 10, 2011

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A guide to the Rioja classifications system and their styles

Classification
Not just any wine can be called Rioja; as well as being made in the Rioja classified area wines must pass a series of analytical and organoleptic tests to determine if the wine is worthy or not of the Denominación de Origen Calificada status. The numbered back label or seal on a bottle of Rioja is your guarantee of quality as well as the origin, vintage and ageing category of the wine. Rioja wines are classified according to the amount of time they have spent ageing in the winery; meaning that they are never sold until they have aged to perfection. Here’s a guide to what the words ‘Crianza’, ‘Reserva’ and ‘Gran Reserva’ mean:

The Wines of Rioja-ageing criteria

Red wines

Guarantee of origin

This category guarantees the DOC Rioja origin and the vintage of the wine. These can be white, red or rose. Generally speaking these are Young red wines with an attractive deep red to purple colour with a deep, red berry scented smell. This label is also used in a minority of wines which don’t suit Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva categories.

Reserva

These wines are recognized by their deep red back label. They must have at least 3 year’s ageing between barrel and bottle, with at least one year in barrel. Reserva wines have depth and great character. They often have an explosion of aroma and taste sensations that continue to evolve in the mouth and tend to be deeper in colour than the Gran Reserva with a richer concentration of ripe fruit flavours which evolve gracefully over time.

Crianza

These wines are identified by their cherry re back label. Crianza wines must spend at least two years at the winery before being released and at least on of those years must be spent in oak casks. They are still young, fresh and juicy but a hint of vanilla and spice to give the wine more complexity. These are wines to be enjoyed on a regular basis, with or without food.

Gran Reserva

Gran Reservas are identified by a teal blue back label (previously brown red). These wines are only made in the best years, using only the finest red grapes. They must spend five years in the winery of which at least two years are spent in oak cask and three in bottle. These are the classic and often the most traditional Rioja wines and rank amongst the finest in the world.

Whites and Rosados

Crianza

Aged for at least six months in oak which lends to hint of creamy complexity to the finished wine.

Reserva

Aged for a minimum of two years of which at least six months are in oak these wines are recognized for their creamy, buttery aromas balanced with lemon acidity.

Gran Reserva

These are wines are only made in exceptional vintages and aged for at least four years including one year or more in oak. The resultant wine is golden yellow with rich, honeyed, nutty flavours.

Source: http://www.winesfromrioja.co.uk/Learn%20about%20Rioja/learn-about-rioja.html

Clark Wine Center was built in 2003 by Hong Kong-based Yats International Leisure Philippines to become the largest wine shop in Philippines supplying Asia’s wine lovers with fine vintage wines at attractive prices. Today, this wine shop in Clark Philippines offers over 2000 selections of fine wines from all major wine regions in the world. As a leading wine supplier in Philippines, Pampanga’s Clark Wine Center offers an incomparable breadth of vintages, wines from back vintages spanning over 50 years. Clark Wine Center is located in Pampanga Clark Freeport Zone adjacent to Angeles City, just 25 minutes from Subic and 45 minutes from Manila.

Wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone, Loire, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Alsace, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, South Africa, Chile and Argentina etc. are well represented in this Clark Wine Shop.

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