The Best Wineries in Rioja

Abel Mendoza Monge

San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Spain

Abel Mendoza Monge belongs to the quieter, grower-led side of Rioja: small scale, organic farming and a Burgundian attention to individual plots rather than cellar-door spectacle. The draw is the range, especially the white varieties and site-specific reds, from a San Vicente de la Sonsierra address that speaks more to vineyard work than tourism theatre.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Adrian Narro Moreno Llorente

Badaran, Spain

A small family winery in Badarán, Adrian Narro Moreno Llorente belongs to the quieter side of Rioja Alta: old-vine Garnacha, estate-grown fruit and the Rulei label rather than polished estate theatre. Its strongest signal is Viña el Moral, a Viñedo Singular site tied to Rioja’s stricter single-vineyard category and a 93-point 2018 bottling assessed by Dominik Vombach in 2022.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Alma del Campo

La Rioja, Spain

Alma del Campo is a small, quiet Rioja DOCa winery shaped around Tempranillo and still red wine rather than tasting-room theatre. Its strongest signal is a Reserva reference point: the 2009 Alma del Campo Rioja received 90 points from Falstaff, placing the estate in a grounded, accessibly priced corner of La Rioja’s cellar culture.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Altos de Rioja

Elvillar, Spain

Altos de Rioja gives Elvillar a modern Rioja Alavesa counterpoint: high-altitude vineyards, small-scale production and a polished tasting-room format rather than old-cellar nostalgia. The draw is terroir expression through Tempranillo and Graciano, with James Suckling recognition for Altos R Pigeage Graciano 2021 and a setting shaped by the Sierra de Cantabria.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Arizcuren Bodegay Viñedos

Logroño, Spain

Logroño’s urban-winery tradition gets a focused, small-scale reading at Arizcuren Bodega y Viñedos, where Rioja Oriental fruit is interpreted through old vines, minority varieties, and an educational tasting format. The draw is not estate grandeur but proximity: a workshop-style bodega in the city, connecting Sierra de Yerga vineyards with the rhythms of Logroño.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Barón de Ley

Mendavia, Spain

Barón de Ley brings Rioja’s estate-winery model into a monastic setting in Mendavia, where a 16th-century monastery, Ebro River country and surrounding vineyards frame the visit. The appeal is less about spectacle than scale, place and Rioja structure: Tempranillo-led reds, Graciano, Viura and cellar formats built around Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva traditions.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Barriton

Rioja Alta, Spain

Barriton sits in the Rioja Alta conversation through the region’s classic red-wine grammar: Tempranillo, oak ageing, concentration and cellar patience. Its Crianza and Gran Reserva bottlings speak to a traditional, dry, long-ageing profile, with Falstaff scores for recent older vintages giving the label a useful critical signal rather than mere regional association.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodega Alegre Valgañon

Sajazarra, Spain

Bodega Alegre Valgañon gives Sajazarra a compact, terroir-led Rioja address focused on old vineyards, mixed plantings, and the cooler Atlantic-continental edge of Rioja Alta. The appeal is not scale or spectacle, but a small-batch urban winery translating the Obarenes area through Tempranillo, Viura, Garnacha, Garnacha Blanca, Rojal, and Calagraño.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodega Classica

San Vincente De La Sonsierra, Spain

Bodega Classica frames Rioja Alta through old-vine Tempranillo, hilltop exposure, and a visitor format built around guided tastings rather than scale. The San Vincente De La Sonsierra winery belongs to Vintae Wine Company and works across white, rosé, Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva, village wine, and the Classica collection, with Decanter recognition giving its premium tier a clear quality signal.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodega Contador

San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Spain

Bodega Contador belongs to the modern Rioja Alta conversation: small-production Tempranillo, gravity-led architecture, organic vineyard work, and a cellar language shaped by Benjamín Romeo’s garage-wine years. Its claim is not nostalgia but precision, with 50 hectares spread across dozens of plots and historic 100-point recognition from Robert Parker for the 2004 and 2005 Contador vintages.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodega Nuestra Señora de Vico

Arnedo, Spain

Bodega Nuestra Señora de Vico gives Arnedo a cooperative Rioja lens rather than an estate-winery narrative. Founded in 1956, it draws on roughly 400 member growers and 350–400 hectares tied to valleys and sierras within a UNESCO biosphere-reserve setting, with DOCa Rioja reds, whites and rosés shaped by scale, altitude and communal farming.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodega Ontañón

Logroño, Spain

Bodega Ontañón puts Rioja’s wine-tour tradition into a more theatrical register: part working cellar, part art-and-mythology installation, part family winery. The stronger editorial reason to go is its link between Logroño hospitality and Sierra de Yerga fruit, with Tempranillo, Graciano, Garnacha and white varieties framed through guided tastings rather than a conventional cellar stop.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodega Orben

Laguardia, Spain

Bodega Orben gives Rioja Alavesa a contemporary frame: old-vine Tempranillo, 74 micro-plots, underground aging areas, and a hospitality format that joins tasting, retail, architecture, and gastronomy. In Laguardia, it reads less as a heritage cellar visit than as a study in how clay-limestone soils, bush vines, and modern cellar discipline can be translated into a design-led winery experience.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodega Paco García

Murillo De Rio Leza, Spain

Bodega Paco García belongs to the contemporary Rioja camp: family-run, estate-based and more interested in fruit clarity than museum-piece grandeur. Its Murillo de Río Leza setting, 40 hectares across seven vineyards and 420-metre valley position give the wines a rural Rioja frame, while labels such as Crianza, Reserva and Seis place the range in an accessible, modern register.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodega Viña Artuke

Banos De Ebro, Spain

Bodega Viña Artuke represents the newer, site-led reading of Rioja Alavesa: small parcels, restrained cellar work, and wines built around village identity rather than oak-age hierarchy. In Baños de Ebro, the family estate works Tempranillo, Graciano, Garnacha, Viura, and mixed white field material across a fragmented vineyard base, with single-site bottlings that give the visit its serious pull.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodega Viñedos de Páganos

Páganos, Spain

Bodega Viñedos de Páganos is a reservation-led Rioja Alavesa estate built around Tempranillo, altitude and named vineyard identity. The draw is the contrast between rock-cut underground cellars, estate parcels such as El Puntido and La Nieta, and a hospitality format that connects vineyard, cellar and table without turning the visit into mass-market wine tourism.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Age

Fuenmayor, Spain

Bodegas Age is a historic Rioja DOCa winery in Fuenmayor, founded in 1881 and rooted in the aging culture of Rioja Alta. The visit centers on traditional cellars, barrel rooms and a guided tasting format rather than design spectacle, with Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graciano framing the house’s classic red-wine identity.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Altanza

Fuenmayor, Spain

Bodegas Altanza is a modern Rioja Alta estate in Fuenmayor, built around Tempranillo, French oak ageing and a polished château-style visitor experience. The draw is the way scale and specificity sit together: 1.3–1.4 million bottles a year, estate fruit at the core, guided tastings, gardens, barrel-room context and a portfolio that runs from Crianza and Reserva to limited sherry collaborations.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Alvia

Ventosa, Spain

Bodegas Alvia is a boutique Rioja DOCa winery in Ventosa shaped by old-vine preservation, Camino de Santiago context, and a hands-on cellar style. The draw is not architectural spectacle but a grounded look at Rioja Alta: centenary vineyards, Tempranillo-led classics, single-varietal Livius bottlings, and tastings that connect barrel work to place.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Baigorri

Samaniego, Spain

Bodegas Baigorri sits along the Vitoria highway at the edge of Samaniego, where Rioja Alavesa's high-altitude vineyards define the house style. The record places Baigorri firmly within Álava's quality-driven tier of producers.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Beronia

Ollauri, Spain

Bodegas Beronia gives Rioja Alta a contemporary visitor format: sustainable architecture, vineyard-facing terraces, guided tastings, and a production story rooted in long barrel ageing. Its appeal lies in how Ollauri’s soils, Tempranillo-led reds, and food-friendly txoko heritage are translated into a polished, social winery experience rather than a purely technical cellar visit.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Bhilar

Elvillar, Spain

Bodegas Bhilar is a small biodynamic Rioja DOCa estate in Elvillar, shaped by indigenous grapes, horse-worked vineyards and a site-led portfolio of village, lieu-dit and single-vineyard wines. Its appeal is not polished cellar-door theatre, but the chance to understand Rioja Alavesa through altitude, limestone hills, low-intervention farming and a cellar designed around restraint rather than scale.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Bilbainas

Haro, Spain

Bodegas Bilbaínas gives Haro’s Rioja tradition a physical scale: century-old stone buildings, cobbled courtyards, vineyard views and a 3,400-square-metre underground cellar system. The estate is rooted in classic Rioja aging, Viña Pomal, large estate holdings and a notable sparkling-wine thread, making it a strong stop for visitors who want Rioja history with working-winery substance.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Burgo Viejo

Alfaro, Spain

Bodegas Burgo Viejo is a family-owned Rioja DOCa producer in Alfaro, founded in 1987 by local grower families and built around estate fruit from 200 hectares between the Ebro Valley and Monte Yerga. Its strength is not architectural drama but terroir scale: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo, Graciano and Viura shaped by valley warmth, hillside exposure and a substantial oak-aging program.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Campillo

Laguardia, Spain

Bodegas Campillo is a Rioja Alavesa winery where estate-grown Tempranillo, château-style architecture, and contemporary art shape the visit as much as the tasting. In Laguardia, the 1990 architect-designed estate sits within 50 hectares of vineyards and holds a 2025 Best Of Wine Tourism award for Art & Culture.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Carlos Serres

Haro, Spain

Bodegas Carlos Serres gives Haro a classic Rioja reading: tempranillo-led wines, French and American oak aging, and a centenary story tied to the town’s export-era rise. The useful lens here is terroir rather than spectacle, with Finca El Estanque, clay-limestone soils, and a broad DOCa Rioja portfolio doing the serious work.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Corral

Navarrete, Spain

A historic Rioja Alta estate in Navarrete, Bodegas Corral connects DOCa Rioja winemaking with the Camino de Santiago setting rather than treating tasting as a cellar-only exercise. The draw is terroir education: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Viura and lesser-seen varieties framed through vineyard walks, traditional cellar spaces, terrace views and guided flights with food pairings.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Covila

Lapuebla De Labarca, Spain

Bodegas Covila gives Rioja Alavesa in a working-cellar register: cooperative roots, estate vineyards, Tempranillo-led wines and a tasting format built around cellar visits rather than polished luxury. In Lapuebla De Labarca, it is a useful stop for travellers who want the mechanics of Rioja production, from old-vine holdings to barrel ageing, set against a practical, wine-first atmosphere.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Cune

Haro, Spain

Bodegas Cune is a historic Rioja DOCa address in Haro, founded in 1879 and tied to the CVNE story from its beginning. The draw is not only the age of the house, but the way Rioja Alta’s Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Viura traditions meet a visitor format built around cellars, guided tastings, food pairings, and an open-air wine bar atmosphere.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas d. Mateos

Aldeanueva De Ebro, Spain

Bodegas d. Mateos belongs to the Rioja Oriental story that rewards attention to slope, heat, clay-limestone soils and family continuity. Founded in 1886 and now tied to around 100 hectares of vineyards near Monte Yerga, the estate works across Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo and Tempranillo Blanco, with barrel aging central to its polished traditional style.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Darien

Logroño, Spain

Bodegas Darien places Rioja wine tourism inside a contemporary architectural frame in Logroño, with Tempranillo at the center of the portfolio and design treated as part of the tasting context. Its strongest signal is stronger examples from Wine Tourism 2009 architecture award, which puts the visit closer to a study of Rioja’s modern visitor culture than a purely cellar-led stop.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas David Moreno

Badaran, Spain

Bodegas David Moreno is a Rioja Alta winery in Badarán shaped around old-vine Tempranillo, Garnacha and Viura, underground rock-cut cellars, and a family-forward wine tourism format. The draw is not trophy chasing but terroir literacy: altitude, Atlantic influence, clay-limy and clay-ferrous soils, and a visit structure that connects cellar, vineyard and local Rioja cooking.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas del Marqués de Vargas

Logroño, Spain

An estate-style Rioja DOCa visit near Logroño, Bodegas del Marqués de Vargas is built around vineyard expression rather than cellar theatrics. Its 60-plus hectares, Viñedo Singular parcels, Reserva and Gran Reserva focus, and quiet château setting make it a serious stop for travellers who want Rioja framed through land, ageing and family continuity.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Del Medievo

Aldeanueva De Ebro, Spain

Bodegas Del Medievo reads Rioja through altitude, warm Mediterranean influence, and estate fruit in Aldeanueva de Ebro. Founded in 2001 by four winegrowing families, it works across Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo, Graciano, Tempranillo Blanco, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay, with a broad cellar language that runs from young wines to Gran Reserva and organic bottlings.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Diosares

Alava, Spain

Bodegas Diosares is a small Rioja Alavesa estate in Alava focused on still red wines shaped by Tempranillo, Graciano, clay-loam soils, and the cooler influence of the Sierra de Cantabria. Founded in 2004 by fourth-generation viticulturist Carlos San Pedro, it belongs to the quieter, vineyard-led side of Rioja, where the point is not spectacle but regional expression.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Domeco de Jarauta

Aldeanueva De Ebro, Spain

Bodegas Domeco de Jarauta is a family-run Rioja DOCa estate in Aldeanueva de Ebro, framed by vineyards, olive trees, and a modern winery set into a rural winegrowing context. Its interest lies in estate-grown production from family vineyards, classic Rioja varieties, manual harvesting, and a barrel program that pairs regional convention with broader oak experimentation.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas El Meson

La Rioja, Spain

Bodegas El Meson is a quiet Rioja DOCa producer shaped around Tempranillo, Viura, and the region’s long barrel-ageing tradition. Its place inside Grupo Barón de Ley and cellar capacity of around 10,000 barrels position it as a production-minded stop for travellers interested in classic Rioja structure rather than spectacle.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Exopto

Guardia, Spain

Bodegas Exopto reads Rioja through old vines, small plots, and a lighter hand with oak. In Guardia, the producer belongs to the newer Rioja conversation: wild yeast, concrete and large oak vessels, field-blend whites, Graciano with intent, and vineyard work that includes hand treatments and horse-drawn ploughing.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Faustino

Oyón, Spain

The winery represents a significant scale of production within the Spanish appellation system, with medals across multiple tiers confirming consistent quality from a house with deep roots in the region.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Faustino Rivera Ulecia

Arnedo, Spain

A historic family bodega in Arnedo, Bodegas Faustino Rivera Ulecia reads Rioja through cellar humidity, barrel texture, Tempranillo-led reds and a broader Spanish portfolio. The appeal is not spectacle but context: five generations of winemaking, an 1899 origin story, and a tasting format that links DOCa Rioja with Ribera del Duero, Navarra, Rías Baixas and Utiel Requena.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Félix Azpilicueta

Logroño, Spain

Bodegas Félix Azpilicueta belongs to Rioja’s classic, Tempranillo-led tradition, with a brand history reaching back to Félix Azpilicueta Martínez’s 1881 vineyard work in Fuenmayor and a modern corporate chapter under Pernod Ricard. Its interest is terroir rather than spectacle: Rioja Alta altitude, mixed soils, oak ageing, and familiar Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva categories shape the conversation.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Forcada

Rincon De Olivedo O Las Casas, Spain

Bodegas Forcada belongs to the high-altitude, family-run side of Rioja, where steep Sierra de Alcarama vineyards shape the wines more than cellar theatrics. The draw is terroir with evidence: old vines, 700-metre vineyards, ecological farming, French and American oak, and a 2019 International Wine Challenge 96-point result for Alma de Forcada Cepas Viejas.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Franco-Españolas

Logroño, Spain

The winery sits on Calle Cabo Noval in the heart of Rioja's capital, offering a direct point of entry into the region's layered relationship with Tempranillo and oak-aged tradition.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Heredad de Aduna

Samaniego, Spain

Bodegas Heredad de Aduna is a small family-run Rioja Alavesa producer in Samaniego, shaped by clay-limestone soils, Tempranillo, Viura, and a cellar tradition tied to the 16th century. The appeal is not spectacle but scale: guided tastings, cellar context, sustainable viticulture, and wines that sit close to the region’s older village grammar.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Imperial

Haro, Spain

Bodegas Imperial puts Rioja Alta’s old-vine Tempranillo tradition inside CVNE’s historic Haro cellars, where French oak vats, barrel rooms and the Eiffel nave give the visit a serious sense of lineage. The draw is not modern winery theatre but a tightly focused Imperial range, tied to notable vintages and backed by major critic recognition, including Wine Spectator’s 2013 No. 1 wine.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Jalón, S.L.

Alberite De Iregua, Spain

A small organic Rioja estate in Alberite de Iregua, Bodegas Jalón, S.L. belongs to the quieter side of the region: estate-grown fruit, Tempranillo-led reds, American oak ageing, and a rural Iregua Valley setting rather than visitor-centre theatre. Its interest lies in the link between clay marl soils, 460–500 metre vineyards, and traditional crianza and reserva formats.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Juan Alcorta

Logroño, Spain

A large-scale Rioja estate outside Logroño, Bodegas Juan Alcorta is strongest as an architecture-and-terroir visit: buried barrel halls, plateau vineyards, and a production model built around Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo, Graciano and Viura. Its scale is part of the story, with more than 300 stainless steel tanks and over 70,000 aging barrels set beneath a modern winery opened in 2001.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Juan Carlos Sancha

Banos De Rio Tobia, Spain

A small Rioja Alta estate in Baños de Río Tobía, Bodegas Juan Carlos Sancha is built around organic viticulture, old vines, and the recovery of minority varieties such as Maturana Blanca and Tempranillo Blanco. The draw is educational rather than theatrical: guided vineyard-and-cellar tastings led by Juan Carlos Sancha González, an enology professor, in a cool Najerilla Valley setting shaped by altitude and calcareous soils.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Lan

Fuenmayor, Spain

Bodegas LAN represents Rioja’s modern-industrial side: scale, technology, and estate-driven winemaking rather than small-cellar nostalgia. Its Viña Lanciano vineyard, a 72-hectare estate shaped by the Ebro River, gives the visit its terroir argument, while the automated ageing cellar and bold branding explain why this Fuenmayor producer reads as contemporary Rioja.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Larraz Caudum

Cenicero, Spain

Bodegas Larraz Caudum is a small family-owned Rioja producer in Cenicero, built around single-vineyard Tempranillo rather than broad cellar tourism. Its appeal is the scale: around 3,000 bottles of Caudum per vintage, estate-led visits, and a quiet Rioja Alta setting where vineyard, cellar and tasting sit close together.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Laturce

Oyón, Spain

Bodegas Laturce belongs to the Rioja DOCa conversation through Oyón and the Rioja Alavesa, where limestone-clay soils and cooler conditions favor Tempranillo with structure. Its Reserva-led identity places it closer to classic aged Rioja than experimental small-lot wine culture, with the El Coto de Rioja connection giving it scale and consistency.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Lecea

San Asensio, Spain

A historic Rioja Alta cellar experience in San Asensio, built around 16th-century caves, concrete vats, foot-treading and estate vineyards. Bodegas Lecea is strongest for travelers who want terroir explained through architecture and old production methods rather than a polished tasting-room format.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Muga

Haro, Spain

Founded in 1932 in Haro, the historic capital of Rioja Alta, Bodegas Muga has maintained continuous family ownership through four generations while holding to traditional winemaking methods that define the region's heritage style.

Also recognized by Falstaff, World's 50 Best

Bodegas Roda

Haro, Spain

Bodegas Roda occupies a distinct position in Haro's wine quarter, translating the Rioja Alta's clay-rich soils and continental climate into structured, age-worthy Tempranillo. For those tracing the expression of place through Rioja's most serious terroirs, Roda is a considered stop.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Bodegas Vivanco

Valle de Mena, Spain

Set against the Cantabrian foothills with views across the surrounding hills and valleys, it represents one of the region's most serious engagements with both viniculture and wine heritage.

Also recognized by Falstaff, World's 50 Best

Campo Viejo

Logroño, Spain

Campo Viejo sits along the Camino de Lapuebla de Labarca on the edge of Logroño, operating as one of Rioja's largest and most recognised commercial wine estates. Visitors come for the full winery experience, set against the backdrop of one of Spain's most storied wine appellations.

Also recognized by Falstaff

CVNE (Cune)

Haro, Spain

CVNE (Cune) is one of Haro's founding bodegas, operating from its historic Barrio de la Estación address and. The winery sits at the heart of Rioja Alta's classical winemaking tradition, producing a portfolio that has anchored the region's identity for well over a century. Plan visits through Haro's winery quarter, where advance booking is standard practice among the station district houses.

Dinastía Vivanco

Briones, Spain

The combination places it among Rioja's more intellectually ambitious wine destinations, where the region's terroir is treated as a subject worth studying, not just drinking.

Also recognized by World's 50 Best

La Rioja Alta

Haro, Spain

One of Haro's founding bodegas, La Rioja Alta has shaped the town's identity as the capital of traditional Rioja winemaking for well over a century. Its cellars on Avenida Vizcaya sit within walking distance of the famous Barrio de la Estación cluster, positioning it alongside Muga, CVNE, and López de Heredia as a cornerstone of the old-guard Rioja canon.

Also recognized by Falstaff

Marqués de Murrieta

Logroño, Spain

Marqués de Murrieta belongs to Rioja’s old export story rather than the newer architecture-led cellar circuit.

Also recognized by Falstaff, World's 50 Best