You can get something okay for a cheap price,” said my friend Allison, who buys red Rioja quite often. These brands are among the top 20 that account for 70% of Rioja wine imports in the U.S. today, according to Ms. Fabiano. Reserva wines are aged at least three years in barrel and bottle (and often longer), and sport a dark Burgundy-colored seal. Of course, the use of oak barrels in fermentation and aging will influence the character of any wine, and Rioja wines are practically ambassadors of oak. A dense ripe red marked by red fruit and spice, soft tannins and toasty oak, this Tempranillo-dominant red spent almost two years in American oak, including some new oak barrels.

Source: Wall Street Journal January 11, 2018 18:00 UTC