The first relates to the region’s marriage of a memorable name and a distinctive, appealing and consistent style. Rioja is famous, and yields wines that rarely fail to deliver a lovely combination of juicy red berry fruit, dry tannins and fresh acidity. These are wines that are neither thin nor confected, but fully ripe and bright. Tis the season for tons of dinner parties and get-togethers. There’s nothing quite as nourishing — emotionally, intellectually, culinarily — as eating and drinking with friends. But I’ve always found bringing wine to a dinner party to be one of the most anxiety inducing parts of life that most of us deal with on the regular, due to all the conflicting requirements. On one hand, you want to bring something that tastes great. But you don’t want to spend too much. But you also don’t want to be seen as cheap. It’s a lot of conflicting messages to contend with. Welcome to December!

Beyond that, Rioja can offer yet more. There are also single-vineyard and/or single-varietal bottlings (which are often very old-vine expressions), along with crisp, pale rosados and delicate, inexpensive fresh whites – not forgetting the barrel-fermented blancos with depth and cellaring potential. In almost all cases, the basis of such greatness is Tempranillo – the signature grape for the region’s reds and rosés, but also, increasingly, whites too, with the newly-authorised Tempranillo Blanco producing outstanding results.They are often varietal wines, and occasionally field blends, released without the extended ageing required of Gran Reservas, ensuring they offer intense fruit flavours. Lovely examples include those from Ollauri, Altos de Rioja and Rolland & Galaretta, although almost every Rioja in this category gained a Gold medal or higher. That is unprecedented. Finally, I was enthused by the whites now emerging from Rioja. Some outstanding examples came from Manuel Quintano, Rioja Vega and Ysios, using native grapes and barrel ageing to yield nutty, zesty blancos with so much appeal now, but ageing potential too. Those drinkers priced out of the market for Bourgogne Blanc might do well to look towards Rioja, where the best producers successfully unite fine oak and citrus flavours to create a wine that would appeal to the longstanding sipper of fine Chardonnay. The Rioja Masters is a competition created and run by the drinks business, and is an extension of its successful Masters series for grape varieties, such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as well as other regions such as Champagne and Tuscany. The competition is exclusively for Rioja wine, and the entries were judged using Schott Zwiesel Cru Classic glasses supplied by Sensible Wine Services. The top wines were awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medals according to their result, and those expressions that stood out as being outstanding received the ultimate accolade – the title of Rioja Master. The graps used to make Campo Viejo Gran Reserva come from various vineyards that belong to the winery. These are located in different areas within the D.O. La Rioja: Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Alta and Rioja Baja. The harvest, as well as the various winemaking and manufacturing processes, are carried out using conventional methods.

After this you’ll find Crianza and Reserva, finishing with the most mature Gran Reserva. Expect a bit more fruit forward flavours with a Crianza, and as you move up the spectrum you’ll tend to find more depth and oak-aging, however that’s not to say Gran Reserva styles are ‘best’. Crianza’s can make for excellent every day wines, as they are highly quaffable, fruity and generally accessibly priced.Campo Viejo Gran Reserva is a red wine from the D.O La Rioja produced by Campo Viejo. This wine is a blend of 3 different grape varieties: Tempranillo (85%), Graciano (10%) and Mazuelo (5%). Reserva’s are preferred by some to the older Gran Reserva’s because they’re not quite as rich, and the oak can be a little more restrained. If you’re looking to cellar age your wine than the Gran Reserva’s are your best bet thanks to the more structured tannins you’ll find. As ever it just comes down to personal preference. As I noted at the outset, Rioja is far from staid and, in my view, the most exciting changes right now concern the region’s barrel-fermented whites and disruptive reds – both of which deserve the term Super Rioja.