Rioja Isn’t One Wine: Six Styles to Discover

Say Rioja and many people picture a red wine with vanilla, spice and the flavour of oak. That is Rioja, but it is only one part of it.

Taste across the region and the picture becomes much broader. There are crisp, unoaked whites, richer barrel-aged whites, juicy young Tempranillo and reds that move gradually from fruit towards the savoury complexity of Crianza and Reserva.

These six wines show that progression particularly well. If you want the rules behind the labels, our Complete Guide to Rioja Wine covers the grapes, zones and ageing classifications in more detail.

1. Fresh, unoaked white Rioja

Bodegas Tarón Blanco 2025

White Rioja is still easy to overlook, which makes this a useful place to start. Tarón's Blanco is crisp and unoaked, with citrus, green apple and white peach. There is no barrel character to get in the way, so what you taste first is freshness.

It is a long way from the traditional image of mature red Rioja, but unmistakably part of the modern region. Try it with grilled fish, seafood or salads.

Bodegas Tarón Blanco 2025, Rioja

£14.30

Bodegas Tarón Blanco 2025 is a crisp, fresh white Rioja from vineyards in Rioja Alta. It is made by Bodegas Tarón, a cooperative bringing together...… read more

2. White Rioja with texture

Gómez Cruzado Blanco 2 Año 2024

Now take white Rioja in a different direction. Gómez Cruzado blends Viura, Tempranillo Blanco and Garnacha Blanca, then uses lees ageing, French oak and concrete to add texture without losing freshness.

The result has stone fruit and citrus alongside gentle toast and a creamier feel. Put it next to the Tarón and the contrast is immediate: same region, two very different expressions of white Rioja. This has enough weight for roast chicken, grilled fish or creamy rice dishes.

Gómez Cruzado Blanco 2 Año 2024, Rioja

£19.45

White Rioja with real depth, but without losing its freshness. Gómez Cruzado Blanco 2 Año combines ripe stone fruit and citrus with gentle toast, a...… read more

3. Rioja before the oak takes over

Bodegas Tarón Tempranillo 2024

Young Tempranillo is one of the best ways to understand what oak ageing adds to Rioja because here it simply isn't part of the equation. Tarón's version is all red berries, strawberry and plum, with soft tannins and a lively savoury finish.

This is the sort of Rioja that works well with tapas, grilled sausages or burgers, and it can take a slight chill. If your idea of Rioja begins and ends with vanilla and mature oak, this is the bottle that resets it.

Bodegas Tarón Tempranillo 2024, Rioja

£15.35

A fresh, fruit-led Rioja made from 100% Tempranillo. Red berries, strawberry and plum lead, with a floral lift, soft tannins and a lively, savoury finish....… read more

4. A little oak, plenty of fruit

Ontañón Plinio El Viejo 2023

Plinio El Viejo moves the dial without jumping straight to Crianza. This organic Tempranillo spends five months in French and American oak, bringing subtle spice to ripe plum and dark cherry while leaving the fruit firmly in charge.

That makes it an interesting halfway point. You can taste what a short period in barrel contributes without the wine becoming defined by ageing. Try it with pork, lamb cutlets, mushrooms or charcuterie.

Ontañón Plinio El Viejo 2023, Rioja

£14.50

Ontañón Plinio El Viejo Organic Rioja 2023 is a contemporary Rioja made from 100% organically grown Tempranillo. Produced by the Pérez Cuevas family, it comes...… read more

5. Classic Crianza

Ontañón Rioja Crianza 2022

Now we arrive at the style many drinkers recognise immediately as Rioja. Ontañón's Crianza blends Tempranillo and Garnacha and spends twelve months in American and French oak followed by a year in bottle.

The fruit is still there, but ripe black fruit now sits alongside baking spice, vanilla and softer, more developed tannins. It is an easy wine to put on the table with lamb, roast chicken, meaty pasta or mature hard cheese.

Ontañón Rioja Crianza 2022

£16.25

Ontañón Rioja Crianza 2022 is a classic Rioja made from Tempranillo and Garnacha grown in the Pérez Cuevas family's high-altitude vineyards in Rioja Oriental. Ripe...… read more

6. Mature Rioja

Ontañón Rioja Reserva 2019

Reserva takes us to the mature end of this particular journey. More time ageing brings greater depth and a more savoury character, showing why mature Rioja has such a distinctive following.

Taste it after the younger reds and the progression makes much more sense than the words on a label alone can convey. This is the bottle for roast beef, slow-cooked lamb or mature cheese.

Ontañón Rioja Reserva 2019

£21.50

Ripe dark fruit, silky tannins and layers of tobacco, spice and gentle vanilla make this a classic mature Rioja with plenty of life left in...… read more

So, what does Rioja taste like?

There isn't one answer. Even these six bottles move from citrus and green apple through stone fruit and gentle toast, then from bright red fruit into spice, vanilla and mature savoury flavours.

That is what makes Rioja interesting. The ageing terms matter, but so do grape variety, vineyard, producer and the choices made in the cellar. A bottle labelled Rioja can be young and immediate or deliberately built for maturity; white as well as red; untouched by oak or shaped by years of ageing.

The Rioja Discovery Case

£95.35

Rioja isn't one wine. This six-bottle case takes you from crisp, unoaked white Rioja through richer, textured white, youthful reds and on to the more...… read more

You can explore more bottles in our Rioja wine range, or taste these six styles together in The Rioja Discovery Case.