{"title":"Rioja Wine","description":"\u003cp\u003eRioja is Spain's best-known red wine region, stretching along the Ebro valley in the north of the country. Tempranillo leads, often softened with Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo. Ageing terms on the label tell the story: Crianza is fresh and fruity, Reserva adds savoury depth, and Gran Reserva brings leather, spice and silky tannin after long years in oak and bottle. White Rioja from Viura ranges from crisp to rich and nutty. Ideal with roast lamb, chorizo and hard cheeses.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"2020-rioja-reserva-vina-ardanza-la-rioja-alta-sa","title":"Rioja Reserva, Viña Ardanza, La Rioja Alta S.A. 2020","description":"\u003ch3\u003eHow it tastes\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eRipe red fruit carries clove, pepper and nutmeg, with a balsamic edge on a long, smooth finish. Medium-bodied and silky rather than heavy, with fresh acidity and fine, well-settled tannins from years in American oak. Tempranillo and Garnacha.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eLa Rioja Alta, S.A. was founded in 1890 in the old railway quarter of Haro by five families, among them the Aranas, the Ardanzas and the Alberdis, whose names now appear on the house's Reserva wines; in 2022 Drinks International named it the World's Fourth Most Admired Wine Brand. The Tempranillo comes from the La Cuesta vineyard in Fuenmayor and the Montecillo vineyard in Cenicero, both at around 600 metres on clay-limestone soils with vines over 30 years old, while the Garnacha grows at La Pedriza in Tudelilla, a 70-hectare site of deep rocky soils at 550 metres in Rioja Oriental. After sorting on optical selection tables the grapes were fermented in stainless steel at 27°C with indigenous yeasts, then aged separately: 36 months in four-year-old American oak barrels for the Tempranillo with six manual rackings, and 30 months for the Garnacha, a fifth of it in new oak, with five rackings, followed by a minimum of three years in bottle. The 2020 vintage ran a long vegetative cycle to perfect phenolic ripening and was officially rated Very Good, giving wines of aromatic intensity with good balance between alcohol and acidity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFood and drinking\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eServe at 16–18°C. It suits roast lamb, braised beef cheek, grilled chorizo, and hard sheep's cheeses such as Manchego. Drinking well now and over the next five to ten years, and an hour in a decanter will open it out.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"La Rioja Alta S.A.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58476452315519,"sku":"HNW-5171120A","price":35.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0551\/4192\/4998\/files\/5171120A.jpg?v=1789922370"},{"product_id":"2021-rioja-el-camino-torre-de-ona","title":"Rioja El Camino, Torre de Oña 2021","description":"\u003ch3\u003eHow it tastes\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eRed berries and blackberry lead, with wild herbs, violets, clove, liquorice and a hint of tobacco behind them. The palate is poised and seamless, medium-bodied, carried by a bright line of acidity and finely etched tannins — intensity without weight. Tempranillo 97%, Garnacha 1%, Mazuelo 1%, Viura 1%.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eTorre de Oña makes wines of deliberate restraint from 50 hectares of estate vineyard in Rioja Alavesa, and since 2005 the property has been reshaped by sustained investment, including a plot-by-plot study that divided the estate into subplots, each given its own vinification and ageing. El Camino itself comes from just 1.54 hectares of low-yielding old bush vines averaging 80.8 years of age, in the El Pisón, La Revilla and Las Naves parcels at Elvillar de Álava, where calcareous loamy-silt soils balance water retention against drainage and the vines give only 2,585 kilograms per hectare; the fruit is picked by hand into 20-kilogram crates and sorted piece by piece. The grapes were refrigerated on arrival, destemmed and held in tank for 12 days below 10°C for a cold pre-fermentation maceration, fermented in tank, then completed malolactic conversion in 500-litre French oak barrels over 14 months before resting five months more in tank ahead of the final blend; the quantity made is tiny. In 2021 carefully managed bud break led to a moderate fruit set of small, loose bunches that reached optimal ripeness free of disease pressure, a vintage rated Excellent at 95 points.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFood and drinking\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eServe at 16–18°C. It suits roast partridge or guinea fowl, rare grilled lamb cutlets, wild mushroom rice, and mild aged cheeses such as Idiazábal. Drinking beautifully now and over the next three to five years; half an hour in a decanter is enough, and more would blunt its lift.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Torre de Oña","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58476492816767,"sku":"HNW-5172221D","price":140.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0551\/4192\/4998\/files\/5172221D.jpg?v=1789922608"},{"product_id":"2024-rioja-alavesa-bhilar-tinto-bodegas-bhilar","title":"Rioja Alavesa, Bhilar Tinto, Bodegas Bhilar 2024","description":"\u003ch3\u003eHow it tastes\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eRipe hedgerow berries lead, lifted by aromatic thyme and rosemary and closing on a delicate spicy twist. It is rich and well balanced rather than heavy, with fresh acidity and chalky, fine-grained tannins giving it shape. Tempranillo 75%, Viura 15%, Garnacha 10%.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBodegas Bhilar is a small estate in Elvillar, in Rioja Alavesa, run by David Sampedro Gil and Melanie Hickman; Bhilar is the Basque name for the village. The land has been farmed organically for more than twenty years and biodynamically for fifteen of them, horses replaced tractors in the vineyards in 2014, and the estate has held Demeter certification since 2022. Elvillar has some of the oldest vines in Rioja, and this village wine comes from dry-farmed bush vines averaging forty years old, planted in calcareous clay over rocky limestone, ploughed by horse and picked by hand. The grapes were destemmed into concrete tanks and fermented spontaneously with native yeasts without temperature control, then pressed into French oak of several sizes for fourteen months.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFood and drinking\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eServe at around 16°C. It suits roast lamb, grilled pork with piquillo peppers, chorizo with butter beans, or a wedge of aged Idiazábal. Drink over the next three to five years; an hour in the glass is enough and it does not need decanting. The bottle is sealed with a Nomacorc closure. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bodegas Bhilar","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58476499534207,"sku":"HNW-5177024A","price":22.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0551\/4192\/4998\/files\/5177024A.jpg?v=1789922461"},{"product_id":"2011-rioja-gran-reserva-890-la-rioja-alta-sa","title":"Rioja Gran Reserva, 890, La Rioja Alta S.A. 2011","description":"\u003ch3\u003eHow it tastes\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBlack plum compote leads, with tobacco leaf, sweet spice and chocolate gathered around it. The palate is pure and velvety, medium-bodied, its acidity still fresh and its tannins worn almost to silk by twelve years in barrel and bottle. Tempranillo 95%, Graciano 3%, Mazuelo 2%.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eLa Rioja Alta, S.A. was founded in 1890 in the old railway quarter of Haro by five families, and in 2022 Drinks International named it the World's Fourth Most Admired Wine Brand; the house keeps its own coopers, who build its barrels by hand from American wood air-dried on site, and racks its wines by candlelight every six months. The Tempranillo and Mazuelo for this wine come from the estate vineyards at Briñas, Labastida and Villalba and the Graciano from the estate Montecillo vineyard at Fuenmayor, all picked by hand from some of the oldest plantings the estate holds. After gentle destemming and crushing the musts fermented in tank for 18 days, the Tempranillo and Mazuelo blended in the vineyard and co-fermented while the Graciano was vinified apart; malolactic conversion happened naturally over four months, and after stabilisation through the winter the best batches were chosen and left in barrel for six years with ten traditional rackings, bottled unfiltered to hold the aromatics, then aged a further six years in bottle. It is made only in years the house considers worth it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFood and drinking\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eServe at 16–18°C. It suits roast rib of beef, slow-cooked shoulder of lamb, jamón ibérico and game birds, and aged Manchego. At fourteen years old it is drinking now and will hold for another ten to twenty; decant it gently off any sediment about an hour ahead.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"La Rioja Alta S.A.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58476508152191,"sku":"HNW-5171411A","price":177.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0551\/4192\/4998\/files\/5171411A.jpg?v=1789922608"},{"product_id":"2024-rioja-alavesa-las-parcelas-blanco-bideona","title":"Rioja Alavesa, Las Parcelas Blanco, Bideona 2024","description":"\u003ch3\u003eHow it tastes\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eStone fruit, dried herbs and white flowers on the nose, then a palate that is juicy and refreshing but delicate with it, carried by bright acidity. There is real poise and length here, and the finish turns chalky and mineral. Viura 100%.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBideona was founded in 2018 in the heart of Rioja Alavesa on a simple premise: that site matters more than time in barrel. Las Parcelas Blanco is a Viura field blend drawn from small, low-yielding hilltop plots on the slopes of the Sierra Cantabria, between 420 and 600 metres, averaging just 0.3 hectares each and around fifty years old, with some vines considerably older. The bush vines sit in limestone and calcareous clay, are treated only with occasional sprays of copper and sulphur, and are picked by hand into fifteen-kilogram boxes. Vinification was classical, with selected yeasts, and the ageing was chosen to suit the vintage: in this case stainless steel and concrete tanks alongside large and small oak vessels, both new and seasoned.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFood and drinking\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eServe at 10–12°C. It works with grilled hake, salt cod croquettes, roast chicken with lemon, or a green salad with a wedge of Manchego. Drink over the next five to ten years; no decanting required, though it shows more in a larger glass. The bottle is sealed with a DIAM technical cork. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bideona","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58476514640255,"sku":"HNW-5104724A","price":24.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0551\/4192\/4998\/files\/5104724A.jpg?v=1789922503"},{"product_id":"2019-rioja-blanco-maturana-blanca-la-nevera-nivarius","title":"Rioja Blanco, Maturana Blanca, La Nevera, Nivarius 2019","description":"\u003ch3\u003eHow it tastes\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eApple, pear and quince, with hints of herbs, beeswax and a distinct saline edge. Refreshing and high in natural acidity, yet with real texture from long ageing on the lees, so there is tension and weight at once. Maturana Blanca 100%.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eNivarius works only with white wines from cool-climate vineyards in Rioja, and its eleven-hectare estate doubles as a heritage-recovery project for the region's rarer indigenous white varieties. Maturana Blanca, which appears in Rioja's written record as early as 1622 and was later on the brink of extinction, has become the mainstay alongside old-vine Viura and Grenache Blanc. The fruit for this wine comes from a single 4.3-hectare plot, Finca La Nevera, in the upper Iregua Valley, planted between 680 and 750 metres where a cool microclimate lengthens hang time and builds acidity; the soils run from sandy-siliceous colluvium at the surface through siliceous sand and light clay to water-retaining clay below. Hand-picked at optimum phenolic ripeness and lightly pressed without destemming, the wine fermented in stainless steel with native yeasts and then spent a minimum of thirty-six months on fine lees with regular bâtonnage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFood and drinking\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eServe at 10–12°C. Try it with grilled turbot, chicken in a cream and mushroom sauce, roast pork loin, or a bowl of clams cooked in white wine. Drink over the next five to ten years; no decanting needed, though a larger glass suits it. The bottle is sealed with a Twin Top technical cork. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nivarius","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58476518769023,"sku":"HNW-5497419A","price":33.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0551\/4192\/4998\/files\/5497419A.jpg?v=1789922587"},{"product_id":"2023-graciano-rioja-bodegas-ondarre","title":"Graciano Rioja, Bodegas Ondarre 2023","description":"\u003ch3\u003eHow it tastes\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eGamey, savoury aromas open onto ripe black fruit, with balsamic, mint, aniseed and white pepper behind. Full-bodied and dense, with firm tannins, moderate acidity and a long, robust finish. Graciano 100%.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBodegas Ondarre was founded in 1985 to show off Rioja's distinct terroirs and is the only winery in the village of Viana, which overlooks the Rioja valley in Rioja Oriental; it works with the same growers it started with, and puts its record on hard vineyard work and continual investment in the cellar and its barrel stock. This is one of only a few thousand cases of single-varietal Graciano, a rarity given how little the variety yields. The vineyards lie on south-facing slopes on the valley's northern hills at 550 metres, on uneven ground cut by streams running off the mountains, with vines averaging 25 years on soils just 30 to 35 centimetres deep — poor in nutrients and largely clay, high in iron and chalk, so the roots have to go looking for water. The grapes were hand-harvested at optimum maturity, fermented with selected yeasts in temperature-controlled vats at 28°C, and aged twelve months, half in new French oak and half in medium-grain Missouri oak.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFood and drinking\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eServe at 16 to 18°C. It stands up to grilled lamb chops, chorizo and morcilla, barbecued beef short ribs, and a hard aged Manchego. Drinking now and over the next three to five years; half an hour in a decanter softens the tannins. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bodegas Ondarre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58476518932863,"sku":"HNW-5163923A","price":19.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0551\/4192\/4998\/files\/5163923A.jpg?v=1789922580"},{"product_id":"2019-rioja-gran-reserva-bodegas-ondarre","title":"Rioja Gran Reserva, Bodegas Ondarre 2019","description":"\u003ch3\u003eHow it tastes\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA mature, complex bouquet of rich fruit and spice, with raisined fruit, tobacco and leather coming through behind it. Medium-bodied, elegant and velvety, with settled acidity and soft, resolved tannins. Tempranillo 90%, Mazuelo 10%.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBodegas Ondarre was founded in 1985 and is the only winery in Viana, the village overlooking the Rioja valley in what is now Rioja Oriental; its Reservas are its most decorated wines, and it credits them to vineyard work and steady reinvestment in the cellar and its French and American oak. The fruit here comes from old vineyards around the village, 40-year-old low-yielding gobelet-trained vines on slopes climbing towards the Sierra at 600 to 750 metres, where shallow soils roughly 40 centimetres deep — sand, clay and limestone over sedimentary bedrock — sit on uneven ground cut by mountain streams that drain it well and make their own microclimate, and the vines have to struggle. Fermentation ran at 25 to 28°C with daily pumping over and délestage to draw out colour, flavour and tannin; malolactic conversion took place in new Missouri and central French oak casks, and the wine then aged on the lees for 28 months with regular racking, was fined naturally through successive rackings to keep its concentration, and spent a further 32 months in bottle before release.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFood and drinking\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eServe at 16 to 18°C. Good with roast lamb, suckling pig, jamón ibérico, mushroom rice and aged Manchego. Drinking beautifully now and good through to about 2035. It was bottled without tartaric stabilisation and can throw a deposit, so decant it off the sediment an hour before serving. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bodegas Ondarre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58476519686527,"sku":"HNW-5162719A","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0551\/4192\/4998\/files\/5162719A.jpg?v=1789922610"},{"product_id":"2020-rioja-alavesa-laguardia-l4gd4-bideona","title":"Rioja Alavesa, Laguardia L4GD4, Bideona 2020","description":"\u003ch3\u003eHow it tastes\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDelicate and perfumed, with wild strawberry and violet aromas over a juicy, light-framed palate. Velvety tannins and a long mineral core carry it to an elegant finish. Tempranillo 100%.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBideona was founded in 2018 in the heart of Rioja Alavesa, built on the idea that site matters more than time in barrel. This bottling comes from selected parcels around the village of Laguardia, which sits at an average of 640 metres and lies open to the Ebro Valley; those exposed sites ripen earlier than neighbouring villages and give lighter, more perfumed wines. The bush vines grow in limestone soils, are treated only with occasional sprays of copper and sulphur, and are picked by hand into fifteen-kilogram boxes. Fermentation and malolactic conversion took place with selected yeasts in stainless steel tanks and concrete vats at moderate temperatures, with gentle daily pump-overs tailored tank by tank to avoid over-extraction; 42% of the wine was matured for eight months in first- and second-use 300-litre French barriques while the rest stayed in steel on its fine lees. Rioja's rules allow a village name on the label only where the winery building stands, so the Laguardia fruit is bottled as L4GD4.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFood and drinking\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eServe at 15–16°C, a touch cooler than room temperature. It is good with roast chicken, jamón with pan con tomate, a simple tomato and basil pasta, or semi-cured Manchego. Drink over the next three to five years; no decanting needed. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bideona","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58476519883135,"sku":"HNW-5104420A","price":34.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0551\/4192\/4998\/files\/5104420A.jpg?v=1789922628"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.edkawines.com\/collections\/rioja-wine.oembed","provider":"Edka Wines","version":"1.0","type":"link"}