La Rioja Alta

La Rioja Alta is one of the houses that still releases its wines when they are ready to drink rather than when the market wants them, and the thing people get wrong is the Rioja ageing ladder. Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva are not quality grades. They are minimum periods: so long in oak, so long in bottle before release. A producer can meet a Gran Reserva minimum with ordinary fruit, and a serious Reserva can outdrink it.

What the ladder does track here is patience and site. Vina Alberdi is the Reserva that gets released young enough to be useful. Vina Ardanza is the fuller Reserva with a slug of Garnacha in it. Vina Arana is a leaner Gran Reserva, and the 904 and 890 are made only in years the house rates, from its own older parcels, and sit in American oak for years before anyone sees them.

Past the 904, you are buying time, rarity and the willingness of a company to leave stock in a cellar for a decade. The flavour curve flattens well before the price curve does.

This list is sorted by price, lowest first.