Discover Spain with These 9 Amazing Riojas at 90+ Points

Our latest Tasting Highlights puts the focus on traditional Riojas from Spain: That is, Tempranillo-based wines labeled as crianza, reserva or gran reserva, classified by the amount of time they were aged prior to release. The aging classification system evolved in Rioja in the 1800s, when two Spanish noblemen in exile spent time in France's Bordeaux. In 1852, upon returning to Spain, Luciano de Murrieta García Lemoine, the Marqués de Murrieta, produced his first wine, which he aged in imported Bordeaux barrels; D. Guillermo Hurtado de Amézaga, later the Marqués de Riscal, produced his first oak-aged red in 1862.

A few years later, when phylloxera swept through France, Bordelaise wine merchants looked to Rioja for stock to sell, and the trend for oak-aged reds flourished; regional winemakers had a ready market, and they were also able to lower costs by importing American oak and making barrels locally—far less expensive than importing empty barrels from Bordeaux. Although it wasn't until the 1970s that the classification system was established as we know it today, the groundwork was laid in the late 19th century. Even after the wine trade between Rioja and Bordeaux dwindled, the tradition of long, oak-aged reds remained.

This lineup also includes Marqués de Cáceres' Rioja Gran Reserva 2016, which shows warm spice, licorice and cherry notes. Read on to get our score and full expert tasting note for this fantastic Rioja and eight others.

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