RIOJA ORIENTAL

Rioja Oriental used to be known as Rioja Baja. It used also to be known, anecdotally at least, as something of a poor relation; think of the comparison between the Aube and the Côtes des Blancs in Champagne, or between the Mâconnais and the Côte d’Or in Burgundy. This reputation, it transpires, was born as much as anything from ignorance, political expediency and a physical distance from the seat of power which, historically, has centred on the northwestern sector of the Rioja DOCa, closer to the early French influences and location of the largest and most powerful houses.

Things are changing, however, and now Rioja Oriental is being increasingly lauded for the very things which were once perceived as its drawbacks. History and