Many people play and have played the trumpet, but only one of them has ever sounded like Miles Davis. As soon as the first chords of Kind of Blue (Davis’ iconic 1959 record) fill a room, it’s not only the music, but also the man and the era that are immediately recognisable.
This is the same experience that Rioja’s best reservas and gran reservas afford – the wine itself a product of a producer’s identity as much as of regional character and vintage conditions – not so much the zeitgeist; an expressiveness that transcends technical ability and passing trends.
Some might argue that vintage and origin become obscured by stylistic definition. While tasting for this report, we felt that the latter helps to bring terroir and regional identity into focus, providing context and structure to the possibility of recognisable difference.
Scroll down for notes and scores of the tasting’s best reserva and gran reserva wines
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Rioja Report 2025: The best reserva & gran reserva wines
Wines are ordered by gran reserva then reserva
{}
{"wineId":"95426","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95427","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95428","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95429","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95430","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95431","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95432","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95716","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95717","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95718","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95719","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95720","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95721","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95722","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95723","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95433","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95434","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95724","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95725","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95726","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95727","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95439","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95435","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95436","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95437","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95438","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95728","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95729","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95730","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"95731","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{}
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