"2021 was a cooler year, going back to the character from decades ago ... overall, it’s a really good vintage, the best in recent years." Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
With Rioja running a trend of warm to hot vintages lately, 2021 was a welcome return to form for the region's great estates, many of which produced reference-point renditions of their most acclaimed wines. Today we're featuring a quartet of outstanding releases that offer the epitome of 2021 precision and sophistication, each one a stellar choice for discerning Rioja collectors and fans.
Marques de Riscal is widely known for their entire range, which spans ultimate value stars all the way up to the single-vineyard, 98-point 2021 Tapias de Marques de Riscal. The Tapias vineyard was planted in 1968 on ferrous and heavy clay soils, and only 2.5 hectares contribute to this wine in 2021, the result being "a modern, glossy and polished Rioja, showing depth and refinement."
Continuing our roster of Rioja icons, the legendary CVNE remains one of Rioja's largest and most important producers, with a dynamism rarely seen in an operation this size. The 2021 Real de Asúa Carromaza hails from a single plot of the same name in the village of Villalba, one of the hotbeds of Rioja's burgeoning single-vineyard movement. The vineyard's clay-calcareous soils and limestone bedrock combined to produce "a super-confident, single-vineyard wine without much adornment." In other words, it's a classic, cool-vintage Rioja for the cellar.
Bodegas Muga's status as an all-time Rioja reference-point is reaffirmed with this sterling trio of releases at razor-sharp pricing, highlighted by the newly arrived, 99-point 2021 Torre Muga, "a gorgeous wine from a gorgeous vintage that’s worth the price." Concentrated and robust yet also polished and refined, the 2021 expresses the character of its old-vine plots in Villalba de Rioja, Brinas, and Labastida. A host of impressive reviews from James Suckling, Vinous, and Wine Advocate further confirm the 2021 Torre Muga as a special achievement, worthy of the wine's lofty reputation among collectors.
Finally, Benjamin Romeo's Bodegas Contador has quickly evolved from upstart garagiste phenom to cult-collectible all-star in a few short decades. His wines routinely garner huge accolades from across the critical spectrum (and prices to match). While the flagship wine falls in the Vega Sicilia/Pingus price stratum, the 95-point 2021 Alma Contador is a superb glimpse at the artisan craftsmanship the ex-Artadi winemaker brings to his work. "very powerful and concentrated but with all the components in good balance," according to Gutiérrez, it's a razor-sharp buy for clued-in Rioja collectors.
A single-vineyard wine, the 2021 Tapias de Marques de Riscal is from a massal selection vineyard of great genetic diversity, all Tempranillo grown in iron-rich red clay. The melty silkiness of the tannins is remarkable, a softness that surrounds a full-bodied ripeness and complexity with bold structure built to last another 30 years. Concentrated elegance offers a contrast of rich rounded red fruit with nuanced spice and toasted oak notes that last and last. Give it more time to coalesce if you can, with an ideal drinking window of 2031-2046.
98 points, Virginie Boone, Jeb Dunnuck (Nov 2025)
A modern, glossy and polished Rioja, showing depth and refinement. Yes, the creamy oak knocks at the door now, behind which is a wealth of spices, blackberries, black currants and red cherries with cocoa powder and graphite. Hedonistic and oaky in nature but has filigree tannins and a long, fragrant finish that goes on for almost a minute. A bit oaky now, but this will age beautifully. Drink from 2027.
97 points, Zekun Shuai, James Suckling (Sep 2024)
Top Quality Store
