The best Rioja wines
Rioja makes over 300 million litres a year. Most of it is forgettable. The gap between forgettable and outstanding doesn’t always come down to price — which is the whole point of this list.
Rioja divides into three tiers. For Crianza under £12, start with Ramón Bilbao 2022 or CVNE Cune 2021. For Reserva, the 2021 vintage is the best since 2011 — Muga Reserva 2021 is the standout buy right now, and Roda I 2019 is the finest bottle the category offers. For Gran Reserva, CVNE Imperial 2017 is the entry point and Muga Prado Enea 2016 is the one to buy.
Best Rioja Crianza
Crianza is the entry level for oak-aged Rioja — a minimum of 12 months in barrel, released in its third year. At this price point, the best bottles massively over-deliver. For a dedicated list of value picks, see our guide to the best cheap Rioja wines.
Ramón Bilbao Crianza 2022
100% Tempranillo, 14 months in American oak, 92 points from James Suckling — who called the 2022 “juicy and fine-grained with medium to full body.” At £9.50 on Tesco Clubcard (under €10 in Spain), this is the bottle to reach for when you want proper Rioja without thinking about it. Founded in Haro in 1924, Ramón Bilbao has made Drinks International’s 50 Most Admired Wine Brands three years running. It earns it.
Score: 92/100 · £9.50 · €10
CVNE Cune Crianza 2021
CVNE has made wine in Haro since 1879. The Cune Crianza — 85% Tempranillo with Garnacha and Mazuelo, 12 months in American oak — took 92 from Wine Enthusiast (Best Buy) and 91 from Suckling. Three million bottles a year, and still one of the most consistently reliable Riojas at any price. If someone asks what Rioja tastes like, open this.
Score: 91/100 · £10.75 · €8.20
Beronia Crianza 2021
Beronia’s winemaker Matías Calleja pioneered “Frenmerican” barrels — American oak staves with French heads — to soften the vanilla and coconut of pure American oak. 90–95% Tempranillo with Garnacha and Mazuelo, 91 from Wine Enthusiast (Best Buy). Owned by González Byass, based in Ollauri, named after the Celtic Berones who lived in La Rioja in the third century BC. If you want a step off the classic Crianza profile, this is it.
Score: 91/100 · £10.99 · €7
Best Rioja Reserva
Reserva is where Rioja earns its reputation: three years’ minimum ageing, at least 12 months in barrel, only from selected harvests. This is the tier where Rioja most dramatically beats its price bracket against Burgundy or Bordeaux.
Marqués de Cáceres Reserva 2019
Founded by Enrique Forner, Bordeaux-trained, Marqués de Cáceres was among the first Rioja bodegas to age only in French oak — 15 months in barrel, then two full years in bottle before release. 85% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha, 5% Graciano. Under £16 for that pedigree is the point.
Score: 93/100 · £16 · €12
Muga Reserva 2021
Wine Spectator’s 2025 Wine Value of the Year. Muga has no stainless steel — everything happens in wood, fermentation included, in their own on-site cooperage. 24 months in barrel (80% French, 20% American), fined with fresh egg whites. Around 70% Tempranillo with Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano. Dark plum, blackberry, cocoa, graphite. It drinks beautifully now and will improve for a decade. According to Tim Atkin, 2021 is the best Reserva vintage since 2011.
Score: 93/100 · £22 · €16
CVNE Imperial Reserva 2019
85% Tempranillo from 40-year-old vines at 550–650 m in Villalba, 24 months in 70% French and 30% American oak. Only made in years the bodega rates worth it. The Imperial name dates to the 1920s — after the British Imperial Pint bottle, which tells you how long CVNE has been selling to Britain.
Score: 93/100 · £30 · €24
Contino Reserva 2020
Rioja’s first single-estate wine, from a 62-hectare property in a meander of the Ebro at Laserna, 18 months in 95% French oak. Winemaker Jorge Navascués maps 32 individual micro-parcels. Parker called the 2020 “a triumph over the vintage.” If you want to taste single-estate Rioja before it goes mainstream, start here.
Score: 94/100 · £33 · €27
Roda I Reserva 2019
Roda opened in 1987 and deliberately went the other way: only French oak, shorter ageing, more primary fruit, more terroir in the glass. The result is elegant and bold at once — black plum, dark chocolate, graphite, structured tannins that still feel silky. Old bush-vine fruit (max 1.5 kg per plant, 552 clonal selections of Tempranillo) gives a density you won’t find at this price. Decanter calls it a “Wine Legend.”
It sits a five-minute walk from López de Heredia in Haro. Two bodegas, two opposite arguments about what Rioja should be. Both are right.
Score: 96/100 · £42 · €37
Best Rioja Gran Reserva
Only about 2% of Rioja carries this designation: minimum five years’ total ageing, released only in years the bodega rates excellent. The best bottles here compete with French wines at three or four times the price.
CVNE Imperial Gran Reserva 2017
85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano, 5% Mazuelo, 24 months in two-thirds French oak, then 3–4 years in CVNE’s century-old cellars. Only made in years the DOCa classes “Excellent.” The 2014 vintage topped Wine Spectator’s entire Top 100 in 2019. At £60 it competes with Burgundy Village wines at £120+.
Score: 95/100 · £60 · €50
Muga Prado Enea Gran Reserva 2016
This almost never happens: Parker, Suckling, Atkin, Decanter, Wine Enthusiast and Peñín all scored the 2016 between 96 and 97+. Six palates, one conclusion.
Everything happens in wood, in Muga’s own cooperage — one year in 16,000-litre casks, three years in small in-house barrels (60% French, 40% American, 10% new), then three more in bottle. Indigenous yeast, no temperature control. Dark fruit, cigar box, a flicker of something almost meaty, and a finish that won’t let go. Muga made no 2017 or 2018 — they didn’t rate the vintages. That discipline is rarer than the wine.
If you buy one Gran Reserva this year, buy this one.
Score: 96/100 · £75 · €67
Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 2012
James Suckling gave the 2012 a perfect 100. The 2010 was Wine Spectator’s #1 Wine in the World for 2020. Tim Atkin rates Marqués de Murrieta a First Growth — his top designation. All from the La Plana single vineyard, planted 1950 at 485 m: 81% Tempranillo, 19% Mazuelo, 34 months in barrel then 20 in concrete. The oldest winery in Rioja, founded 1852. There’s no 2013, 2014 or 2015 — the next release lands around 2029. If you see the 2012, buy it.
Score: 99/100 · £235 · €233
Understanding the classification system
You’ll see these terms on every bottle. Here’s what they actually mean.
Genérico (or Joven) — No ageing requirement. Drunk young. About 40% of all Rioja.
Crianza — Minimum two years total ageing, at least 12 months in barrel. Released in the wine’s third year.
Reserva — Minimum three years total ageing, at least 12 months in barrel. Only made in selected years.
Gran Reserva — Minimum five years total ageing, at least two years in barrel. Only made in the best vintages. Around 2% of Rioja production.
The key thing: unlike most regions, Rioja releases its wines when they’re ready to drink. A Gran Reserva on the shelf today is from the 2016 or 2017 harvest — eight or nine years before you open it. You don’t need a cellar.
One more layer: since 2017 Rioja has built a terroir-based classification alongside the ageing tiers. The top tier, Viñedo Singular, needs vines over 35 years old, manual harvest, yields 20% below average and two blind-tasting approvals. As of 2023, 148 sites qualify. Wines like Contino and Roda were already working this way before the rule existed.
What is the best Rioja red wine for beginners?
Ramón Bilbao Crianza 2022. It scores 92/100, costs under £10 on Tesco Clubcard, and delivers exactly what people mean when they talk about classic Rioja — cherry fruit, vanilla, soft tannins. Start there and work upwards.
What's the difference between Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva?
Ageing time, mostly. Crianza spends at least 12 months in barrel and is released in its third year. Reserva gets at least 12 months in barrel and three years total ageing. Gran Reserva gets at least two years in barrel and five years total ageing, and is only produced in the best vintages. Unlike most regions, Rioja releases wines when they’re ready to drink — Gran Reserva on a shop shelf today has already had eight or nine years.
What's the best everyday drinking Rioja?
CVNE Cune Crianza 2021. It costs around £10, scores 91/100, and delivers a textbook glass of Rioja — cherry fruit, soft tannins, a little vanilla from American oak — without requiring any thought. Three million bottles a year, and still one of the most consistent wines in Spain at any price. For one step up, Muga Reserva 2021 at ~£22 is the best everyday Reserva in production right now — Wine Spectator’s 2025 Wine Value of the Year.
Is expensive Rioja worth the money?
More often than comparable wines from France or Italy at the same price point, yes. A Gran Reserva at £60–75 — CVNE Imperial or Muga Prado Enea — routinely scores 95–96/100 and competes with Burgundy or Bordeaux at £150+. The 2012 Castillo Ygay at £235 received a perfect 100 from Suckling — pricing that would be ten times higher in Burgundy for the same score.
What food goes with Rioja red wine?
Crianza works well with everyday roasts, lamb chops, and hard cheeses. Reserva suits richer dishes — slow-cooked lamb, duck, grilled pork. Gran Reserva is best alongside aged Manchego, wild mushroom dishes, or on its own — the tannins and acidity have softened to the point where the wine doesn’t need food as a foil.
What's the difference between traditional and modern style Rioja?
Traditional Rioja (Muga, La Rioja Alta, López de Heredia) uses American oak and long ageing times — vanilla, coconut, dried strawberry, and a certain oxidative quality. Modern Rioja (Roda, Contino, Finca Allende) uses French oak and shorter ageing — more primary fruit, more structure, more terroir. Neither is better; they’re different wines making different arguments about what Rioja should taste like.
Is Rioja only made from Tempranillo?
Mostly, but not exclusively. Tempranillo dominates, but traditional blends include Garnacha, Mazuelo (Carignan), and Graciano. Palacios Remondo’s La Montesa is 95% Garnacha — a reminder that the Rioja Oriental subzone produces some of the region’s most interesting wines from varieties that aren’t Tempranillo.
Scores are averages calculated from available ratings by James Suckling, Robert Parker, Wine Enthusiast, Decanter, and Tim Atkin MW. Prices correct as of 2026, sourced from Wine-Searcher, retailer listings, and bodega websites. UK prices vary by retailer and promotion.