Wine Terms: Reserva / Riserva

Reserva / Riserva what’s in a name?

Do you ever wonder about some of the extra titles on the labels of wine bottles? Are they just some kind of marketing gimmick or do they have real meaning? Grand Cru, Premier Cru, 1st Growth, Gran Reserva, Superior, Classico… and on… here I’m just going to look at two of them for now: Reserva and Riserva.

It’s important to check the country the wine is from as these terms have different meanings in different countries (as well as different spellings) and in European Union countries that meaning is defined by law whereas in other countries it can mean anything the winemaker wants it to mean.

Reserva is a term used in Spain and Portugal and most likely to be seen on a bottle of Rioja. The term relates to aging and by law a Reserva in these countries must be aged for a minimum of 3 years and at least 12 months must be in oak barrels with the remainder in bottle prior to release. A Gran Reserva must be aged for 5 years with at least 18 months in barrel and a Crianza is just 18 months in total and 6 months in oak. All of these requirements are legal minimums and the wine maker may well decide for his own reputation to leave, say, a Gran Reserva for another year or two so that it truly is at its peak when released.

There is an inherent implication of quality in these terms but how do you measure quality? It’s not something you can assess numerically; all you can do is document some of the processes that must be employed to make a quality wine and the ageing requirement is something that can be measured. So, whilst you could age an inferior wine for 5 years to be able to call it a Gran Reserva the implication is that a winemaker concerned about their reputation would only do that with the best wines.

I’ve frequently seen the description Reserva or Gran Reserva on wines from Chile and whilst it should indicate superior quality and extended periods of ageing there is no legal requirement and the term can be used any way the winemaker chooses. So beware!

Riserva: this term is used in Italy to indicate a wine of higher quality using the best grapes from the most prime sites and the measure for this is the period of ageing prior to release. The term has slightly different meanings in different wine growing areas within Italy as follows:
Chianti Classico Riserva – 24 months
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano – 36 months
Amarone Riserva – 4 years
Barbaresco Riserva – 4 years
Barolo Riserva – 5 years
Brunello di Montalcino Riserva – 6 years
In addition, each of these has different requirements for ageing in oak within these times.

I hope this helps to demystify one small area of the wine experience and please let me know if this was helpful or any other areas you’d like some help with.