Buyers Guide to Vintages March 7th Release
John Szabo’s Vintages Review March 7, 2026: There’s No Such Thing as Rioja and Women in Wine
By John Szabo MS, with notes from David Lawrason, Sara d’Amato, and Megha Jandhyala
There’s no such thing as Rioja. Spain’s oldest and most recognized denomination of origin has evolved well beyond what we think we know about Rioja wine. Today, the DOCa Rioja name alone, without qualification, tells you almost nothing except geographical provenance, somewhere in sprawling Ebro River Valley corralled by mountains to the north and south where more than 66,000 hectares of vineyards are planted with a wealth of old vines. The point was made, ironically enough, at the recent closing of the Centennial Celebrations of DOCa Rioja, established in 1925. But a look at the past is also a window on the future of this dynamic region. If you think you know Rioja, read on to learn about some of the transformations taking place, and perhaps more importantly, for a long list of recommended wines and producers, many of which will challenge your understanding of what tradition and modernity really mean.
This week’s buyer’s guide features the Vintages March 7 release. The theme is Women in Wine and features 17 wines in all, though there are more women-led wineries in the release that are not included in the feature. The WineAlign Crü selects their top values as usual, and this week we indicate which are made by women, including triple alignment on a “dark and stormy,” “bargain” chenin from South Africa, and a double for Donatella’s “Cinderella,” should you wish to conduct your own celebratory tasting of their excellent work. David also recommends wines from South Africa’s first black female winemaker, who paid a visit to Toronto last week.
Davalillo Castle, Rioja ©Kiko Ausejo – Estudio Lima
Women in Wine Special mention: Aslina, South Africa
By David Lawrason
Ntsiki Byela at Loop Line (credit: David Lawrason)
The first black woman to become a winemaker in South Africa recently paid her first visit to Canada on a particularly frigid Toronto day. Ntsiki Byela was shocked by the cold — but she eventually told her story and presented her excellent Aslina wines at the Loop Line bottle shop. She studied winemaking at Stellenbosch University, with no previous wine contact and unable to speak Afrikaans. After graduation in 2004 she landed a job at Stellekaya. Then, in 2016, she started her own Aslina label (named for her grandmother) by renting space at Delheim. Her excellent portfolio of chardonnay, chenin blanc, cabernet sauvignon and a blend are available at Loop Line; prices range between $35 and $50.
There’s No Such Thing as Rioja
“When you say ‘Rioja’ alone, you say nothing,” said Spanish Master of Wine Pedro Ballesteros in a provocative opening salvo. Ballesteros was leading a tasting in Logroño to close the Centennial Celebrations of DOCa Rioja. Spain’s first and most famous denomination of origin, and the consejo regulador that governs it, turned 100 last year (it was established in 1925).
Castilla Land of Castles on the Ebro River ©John Szabo
“There’s no such thing as Rioja without additional adjectives,” he said.
The point that Rioja alone conveys little to a wine drinker, other than geographic provenance, was neatly underscored by Ballesteros and his co-curators through a dozen wines that included wines red, white, rosé, blended, single variety, single vineyard, modern, young and fruity and traditional, old and leathery…all labelled as DOCa Rioja. Additional qualifiers are essential to convey what is in the bottle. It’s an interesting position for an appellation of origin to take, but Rioja DOCa is leaning into its new tag line — “100 Kilometers of Diversity” — with gusto.
Most seasoned wine drinkers will be familiar with traditional-style Rioja, first and foremost a red wine, produced mainly from tempranillo sourced from several rub-regions for consistency, and aged for an extended period in American oak barrels. It is relatively pale garnet red in colour and redolent of oak-derived sandalwood and cedar, leather and spice, shaved coconut and dried red fruit in a burnished oxidative fashion, with tannins already silky at bottling thanks to long ageing in the oxygen-rich environment that porous oak provides.
They can be wonderful wines. Sommeliers love them, if at least partly for the ease with which they can be identified on blind tasting exams. And marketers, too, loved the ease with which Rioja from last century (the 20th century), could be described.
“Back then, you could explain Rioja in less than 30 seconds,” muses Javier Arizcuren, an architect-cum-winemaker whose first commercial vintage was in 2015. “It was tempranillo, in four types, from Jóven, Crianza, Reserva to Gran Reserva. That was it. Simple. And it worked.” But the reality on the ground has changed radically. Arizcuren himself doesn’t bother with the traditional ageing categories, preferring to focus on origin rather than how long a wine rests in a barrel. He’s part of a growing number of terroir-obsessed winegrowers in what has become one of Spain’s most dynamic denominations.
It’s worth noting that the origins of this “traditional” style are in fact quite recent, dating to only about 150 years ago or so, and this in a region where wine has been produced for at least 2,000 years. Such perspective puts this notion of what is “traditional” in some jeopardy.
Historic Bodega of R. López de Heredia, Haro ©John Szabo
It was in the second half of the 19th century when a “new wave” of maverick producers, schooled in Bordeaux methods, or at least inspired by them, established their wineries. Marqués de Murrieta, Marqués de Riscal, R. López de Heredia, La Rioja Alta, La Compañia Vinícola del Norte de España (C.V.N.E.), and Martinez Lacuesta all opened their doors prior to the turn of the 20th century (and Bodegas Bilbaínas in 1901). And the “Vinos Finos de Rioja” they produced all followed a similar production philosophy, of which the main innovation at the time was that the wines were especially stable and transportable, like Bordeaux. This in turn enabled them to conquer international markets via the port of Bilboa, connected to the region since the train station in Haro opened in 1863. Trade flourished. And a century later, in 1980, the philosophy was enshrined into law with the official establishment of the ageing categories, from Jóven (now “Genérico”), to Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva, each requiring increased time in barrel and bottle before release.
Yet prior to the creation of these new, long-aged wines, much of the wine produced in the Ebro River Valley, and its tributary, the Rio Oja, which lends its name to the province of La Rioja and also the wine region, was what was referred to locally as “vino de cosechero.” This “harvester’s wine” was a young, fruity red (or rosado, a.k.a. clarete, if made from a field blend of red and white varieties fermented together). These were made with carbonic maceration, using uncrushed, whole bunches of grapes, in similar fashion to Beaujolais Nouveau, in small family “wineries” with minimal equipment. It was sold locally in bulk to consume within the year (or drank by the family). This wine was not made to travel.
Reflecting Old and New Realities
In this light, Rioja DOCa is shrewed to explore and embrace the full richness of the region’s history, its wine styles, and native varieties, not to mention the stunning physical diversity of the area that spans roughly 100 kilometers from east to west. Vineyards stretch from the gravelly banks of the Ebro River to the limestone heights of the Sierra Cantabria and Sierra de la Demanda at up to 800 metres, and the Winkler Index of classifying climate ranges from as low as 900 growing degree days, fewer than Champagne, up to 2900, the equivalent of Fresno, California, or Jerez in Spain. DOCa Rioja is, in reality, a patchwork of dozens of smaller sub-appellations, that are only now coming into clearer focus.
“It is not just about looking back with pride but thinking about what brought us here to create our future. Today we close a chapter but open a new one,” said Raquel Peréz Cueva, president-chair of the control board (Consejo Regulador), in a presentation at the Centennnial.
“Rioja’s legacy has been deep in consistency,” Pérez Cueva continued, “but it only lasts if it continues to evolve. Rioja is a region in motion, a region that anticipates and connects with new market realities. Falling behind is more dangerous than evolving; adaptation is not optional.”
And since the turn of this century, changes have been sweeping across Rioja, driven by yet another new wave of producers adapting to market realities and finding new voices for Rioja wine. These more “modern” wines are very often from specific sub-regions or vineyards rather than cross-regional blends, and are aged for shorter periods, more frequently in French rather than American oak, or in neutral vessels such as concrete or clay. They are much fresher and fruitier, sometimes riper and denser, and more deeply coloured. They are also far more unique and individual.
Old vines with snow covered Sierra de la Demanda ©John Szabo
To reflect this new reality, the Rioja consejo regulador introduced a new, parallel system of classification in 2017 based on origin rather than length of ageing.
Vino de Zona, Vino de Pueblo and Viñedo Singular represent wines in increasing order of specificity, from a defined but fairly large area such as Rioja Alavesa or Rioja Alta, through to wines from vineyards within a single village, and down to bottlings from registered single vineyards. The classifications also come with increasingly restrictive production regulations regarding minimum vine age and yield, for example, putting Viñedo Singular at the top of the quality pyramid, the Riojano equivalent of a Burgundy Grand Cru. There are currently 133 registered Viñedos Singulares, whose vines, by definition, must be at least 35 years old.
These origin classifications can be coupled with the ageing categories, i.e. “Vino de Pueblo Reserva,” a situation which admittedly adds layers of complication for consumers. It’s not a perfect system, but consider it a work in progress, and it is surely a better reflection of the reality on the ground, a formal recognition of the inherent natural diversity in the region.
Vinos de Cosecheros are also making a comeback, as are “claret” wines, the field blends of red and white varieties that were once the norm. And white wines, too, have become a focus over the last 20 years, especially with the expansion of the list of permitted varieties in 2007. Though still accounting for less than 10 percent of production, several producers I spoke to have planted, or are planning to plant, new white variety vineyards.
“We’re in a beautiful time,” said Arizcuren. “Looking at how to walk in the future. You talk with other winemakers, you make mistakes, you discover things, we learn every day.”
From such wildly different sub-regions, soils and elevations, increasing varietal diversity and evolving producer philosophies, the assortment of Rioja is now more diverse than ever. And the word Rioja alone has never been so meaningless, a happy thing for wine lovers.
See over 100 new reviews of Rioja’s top wines: “John’s Rioja Centennial 2026.”
Some producers to seek out:
Arizcuren, Artuke, Bideona, Contino (part of C.V.N.E.) Cuentaviñas, Dominio de Queirón, Gómez Cruzado, Juan Carlos Sancha, López de Heredia, Marqués de Murrieta, Marqués de Riscal, Palacios Remondo, Paco García, Pujanza, Ostatu, Oxer Bastegieta, Sierra de Toloño, Remírez de Ganuza, Remelluri, Roda, Santalba, Valcuerna, Vignerons de la Sonsierra.
Arturo de Migule of Artuke with John Szabo ©Kiko Ausejo – Estudio Lima
Buyer’s Guide Vintages March 7: White, Sparkling, Sake, Fortified
Les Hauts De Lagarde Blanc 2024, Bordeaux, France
$19.95, Rare Earth Wines
John Szabo – I’d be pouring this sharp-value white Bordeaux by the glass if I ran a wine bar.
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That’s all for this report, see you ’round the next bottle.
John Szabo, MS
Use these quick links for access to all of our March 7th Top Picks in the New Release. Non-premium members can select from all release dates 60 days prior.
John’s Top Picks – March 7th
Lawrason’s Take – March 7th
Sara’s Selections – March 7th
Megha’s Picks – March 7th
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