Spain

Spain is the one major wine country where the label often tells you how long the wine was aged before you bought it.

In Rioja the terms are legal minimums, not house style. For reds: Crianza means at least 24 months total with at least 12 in oak; Reserva at least 36 months with at least 12 in oak; Gran Reserva at least 60 months with at least 24 in oak. That means a Gran Reserva has already spent five years somewhere other than your shelf.

Tempranillo leads in Rioja and Ribera del Duero. Priorat works with Garnacha and Cariñena on steep slate. Rías Baixas in the northwest is Albariño country and maritime rather than continental. Cava is made by the same second-fermentation-in-bottle method as Champagne, mostly in Catalonia.