Traditional: fragrant, silky and delicate wines from long ageing in cask (usually American oak) and bottle. These are mostly ready to drink on release. The Society's Rioja, Navajas, Amezola and La Rioja Alta are traditional-style wines The Society follows. Rioja Alavesa, further east in Basque country, shares many of the characteristics of Alta in that its vineyards grow some of the region's best grapes, in particular around the towns of Laguardia and Elciego. Alavesa's red wines are marked by their purity of fruit and beguiling scent. What can be confusing is that these are minimum regulations and each house does its own thing. The more premium wines will often spend much longer in oak. The choice of which vintages will be suitable for the long-haul is each winery's decision. There is a wealth of historic producers, many of whom have been making wine for centuries, but recently the region has seen the arrival of a new wave of ultra-modern bodegas that are pushing the boundaries and taking the wines to even greater heights.

Rioja Baja - Most of Rioja Baja is south of the Ebro and further south and east of its neighbouring sub-regions. Summers in Rioja Baja are more often than not very warm and dry, with vineyards at lower elevations than its neighbours. Consequently soils are predominantly silt and other alluvial deposits with little chalk present, and garnacha reigns supreme among the red varieties because of its ability to deal almost effortlessly with the heat. As a rule, reds from Baja are higher in alcohol and less elegant than in Alavesa and Alta, though of course there are always exceptions and particularly so as viticulture and winemaking improves with every passing year. As a result, Rioja has a wonderful variety of styles. The geography of the area is also a contributing factor, spanning a terrain that stretches 75 miles from north-west to south-east resulting in diverse climates, topography and soil types – all of which further influence quality and wine style.

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Further south, in the eastern section, is Rioja Oriental, where garnacha flourishes in the hotter, more Mediterranean climate.

Modern-classical: Younger, rounder wines that retain the delicious character of Rioja through cask ageing (often a mix of American and French oak) with the structure to develop in bottle.Gran Reserva: wines are usually made in the best vintages where the fruit quality is rich enough to support two years in oak barrel and three in bottle. excludes Northern Ireland, the Scottish Highlands & Islands, and the Isles of Wight, Man and Scilly - please see below) The 2014 vintage in Spain has generally produced decent quality and good volume. In Rioja, however, conditions were challenging: after a cool spring, the summer was dry with warm temperatures, and Rioja looked set for an excellent harvest. But high rainfall and warm temperatures in September and October 2014 provided perfect conditions for fungal disease. Selection was therefore essential to make good wines. Some producers took decisive action: for example, Bodegas Muga invested in a new optical sorter which, though costly, meant only the healthiest grapes were included in the fermentation.

In 1926 Rioja established the first consejo regulador and so was the first Spanish wine to obtain Denominación de Origen status. The regulations govern many aspects of wine production but of most significance to wine drinkers are the rules specifying oak ageing: Glorioso Reserva ist ein Rotwein der D.O. La Rioja, hergestellt von dem Weingut Bodegas Palacio, das 1894 von Don Cosme Palacio y Bermejillo gegründet wurde. Dieser Wein ist ein Sortenwein aus Tempranillo, der charakteristischsten Rebsorte der Region. is therefore a year to follow producers who were prepared to forego quantity for quality; these are the bodegas we shall follow. A clearer picture will evolve once the malolactic fermentation is completed.

More wines from Bodegas Palacio

Vor Beginn der verschiedenen Verarbeitungsprozesse werden die Beeren in Edelstahltanks kalt mazeriert.

Modern: richer, velvety wines aged for less time in newer (usually) French oak, which are released earlier and mostly need keeping. The best producers here are Roda, Paisajes and Lanzaga. What can be confusing is that producers use different ageing techniques (for example some might use American oak, others French, others a mix of both) which will influence the style, structure and flavour of the wine. To help you find the style you like we have split the wines into the following designations. Any 1805 1812 1830 1840 1848 1863 1865 1866 1869 1871 1883 1885 1888 1889 1893 1897 1898 1900 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1910 1911 1912 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Pre 1900 NA NV

The official Rioja classification is a guarantee of the amount of ageing a wine has undergone. Usually the best wines receive the longest maturation but this does not guarantee quality, which is why it is just as important to follow producer. Remote Areas - Northern Ireland, the Scottish Highlands & Islands, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man and The Scilly Isles Delivery Service Die Trauben werden aus verschiedenen Weinbergen in La Rioja Alavesa ausgewählt und im optimalen Moment der Reife geerntet. Glorioso Crianza ages in Bordeaux French oak barrels for 12 months. It then remains in the bottle for a further 10 months. Nach einer langen Mazeration wird der Most von Glorioso Reserva in französische Eichenfässer gefüllt, in denen er 22 Monate lang ruht.