Rioja tasting

Make the sheets View: A4 · Letter

A Rioja flight fits on one portrait page titled Tempranillo, the grape behind most Rioja: four columns, each with a numbered ring, the colour and the name if you taste open, and the compact rows across, from colour depth to how long it lasts. A Rank box under each column, then The difference, in my words. Rioja is made for this sheet because its labels are a ladder of age. A young Joven or Crianza circles deeper colour and fresher fruit, a Gran Reserva paler colour, smooth on the mouth-drying line and a long finish, and the difference line is where you describe what years in oak do. The aromas to look for, though they are not printed here, are strawberry and cherry when young, vanilla, coconut and dill from American oak, and leather, tobacco and dried fruit with age. It suits a taster or two, or a small group.

Buy a Joven, a Crianza, a Reserva and a Gran Reserva, ideally from the same producer, so age and oak are the only things that change. Pour them in order of age, open or blind, and fill each row across the four before moving on. Colour is the first clue, from purple-ruby to brick, so look at the rims over a white sheet. Then rank, and write the difference: most people are surprised by which they prefer. A modern Rioja in French oak makes a good fifth glass, and the flight then splits over two pages. Print one page per taster and a full notes page for your favourite. Older Rioja can throw a deposit, so stand the bottle upright for a day and pour gently. Taste small, spit, and drink water between.

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