THE DIVERSITY OF SPAIN

The country's major wine regions each offer distinct styles and flavors  

- ALISON NAPJUS

The beauty and bounty of Spanish wine is on full display this year among the bottlings available in the U.S. Wine lovers can enjoy everything from sparklers to dessert wines, including vibrant whites, fruity rosés and rich reds, with examples from grapes both native and international. These wines also showcase the scope of Spain’s geography, hailing from an array of regions throughout the country, each with its own distinctive climate, terroirs and winemaking traditions.

Since our previous report (“Spanish Revival,” Oct. 15, 2021), Wine Spectator editors have reviewed more than 625 Spanish wines in blind tastings. This has been a year of transition for our coverage of Spain, and I began reviewing the country’s wines in early 2022, ultimately tasting more than 80% of the bottlings in this report. That gave me more than enough time to reconfirm the allure of the country’s offerings, with more than 275 wines rated 90 points or higher on Wine Spectator’s 100-point scale (including 11 reds at the classic level of 95-plus) and 250 wines priced at $20 or less per bottle.

This year’s report focuses on Spain’s four primary wine-producing regions: Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Priorat—“the big three”— along with Galicia, best-known for whites made from Albariño in the Rías Baixas Denominación de Origen (DO). These four areas of Spain account for nearly two-thirds of the wines under review, making them a good place to start for wine drinkers looking to expand their knowledge and enjoyment of Spanish wine—and for a wine critic penning her first report on the subject.