Rioja Tasting at Bar Rioja

London, England. Tuesday 01-September-2026.

That evening we had a booked a Portuguese wine bar in Bermondsey but a change of accommodation meant a switch to Bar Roija, very close to King’s Cross, offering three different tastings with tapas. We went for the mid-priced option.

The whites (including a bonus sparkling and a second orange wine to compare and contrast):

The red wines and a couple of extras as digestives:

WINE [Zone | Grape varieties] Description; Rating.

FINCA MANZANOS BLANCO [ORIENTAL | VIURA, CHARDONNAY]
Fleshy ripe apricots, rounded and long

GÓMEZ CRUZADO BLANCO 2 AÑO 2023/2024 [ALTA | VIURA, TEMPRANILLO BLANCO]
Poised and beautifully concentrated honeysuckle, stone fruit and gentle toasty oak. Textured, almost exotic yet very approachable (OV: 40-70 years); 92/100 The Wine Advocate

MUGA ROSADO [ALTA | GARNACHA, VIURA]
Intense and complex on the nose - pomegranate with redcurrants on the dry lip-smacking palate; 91/100 James Suckling

PHINCA HAPA BLANCO 2022 (vg |o|b) [ALAVESA | VIURA, GARNACHA BLANCA, MALVASIA]
Characterful aromas of quince, peach and honey. A textural palate with lime, burnt orange and dried pineapple with a smack of sea salt and citrus acidity to round things off nicely (OV: 50-60 years); 93/100 Decanter | 93/100 Tim Atkin MW

CHULATO, BODEGAS ABEICA (o) [ALTA | TEMPRANILLO, GARNACHA, VIURA]
Aromas of blackberries, wild currants and raspberries. Gutsy and intense fresh red fruit character helped by carbonic maceration

LUIS CANAS, SELECCIÓN DE LA FAMILIA 2019 (vg | o) [ALAVESA | TEMPRANILLO, FIELD BLEND]
Complex aromas which combine to give an intense, sophisticated wine. Ripe berry fruits, smoke, raisins and liquor. Full and rounded and satisfying on the longlasting finish (OV: 35+ years); 92/100 Tim Atkin MW.

Each wine came with a little tapas chosen to go with the wine which added up to a sufficient light supper for us.  

No tasting notes or ratings from us as we were to busy tasting, eating and chatting but we generally enjoyed them all. Our host Denise was everything you could want from a host: fun, friendly, knowledgeable and generous.

We were the only customers because the restaurant opposite, which provided the nibbles, was full with a private 21st birthday party. That worked to our advantage as we had plenty of time to chat with Denise and discuss the wines and winemaking in depth. The Viura is a new grape to me, “It is widely grown in the Rioja region of northeastern Spain, the Cava producing areas south of Barcelona, and the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France.” (Wikipedia).

A fantastic tasting!