Discerning Rioja alternatives
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Decanter's tasting team picks out five wines you are likely to enjoy if you love good quality Rioja...

There are several key styles of Rioja, widening its appeal and making it a very popular choice with consumers.

Try these five quality Rioja alternatives picked out by Decanter’s tasting team for their similar flavours and use of oak, and see if you have discovered a new favourite wine.

Rioja alternatives:

Morgenhof Wine Estate, Merlot 2012

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Morgenhof Wine Estate, Merlot, Stellenbosch 2012

Given bottle age before release, this smooth operator has the dusty fruit of a Rioja with some age, and a

Vasse Felix, Filius Chardonnay 2015

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Vasse Felix, Filius Chardonnay, Margaret River 2015

This Chardonnay evokes the rich style of barrel fermented white Rioja, with its citrus, caramelised apple and oak aromas and

Ten delicious Shiraz alternatives

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Ten delicious Shiraz alternatives: Updated

Shiraz (also referred to as Syrah) is one of the world's great grapes. If you love it, here are ten

alternatives to Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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12 alternatives to Châteauneuf-du-Pape

If you love Châteauneuf-du-Pape's style but not the cost, read on as Decanter's Tasting team recommend 12 muscular alternatives worth

Rioja travel guide

Flamboyant Rioja is one of the 'rockstar regions' of Spanish winemaking
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Wine Trails: Six Rioja wineries to visit

As part of our series of extracts from Lonely Planet's new travel book Wine Trails, see the six Rioja wineries

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James Button
James Button
Regional Editor - Italy

James Button is Decanter’s regional editor for Italy, responsible for all of Decanter's Italian content in print and online.

Like many others, he started his wine career at Majestic Wine, giving him a strong grounding in the subject before successfully completing the WSET Level 4 Diploma in 2010. From 2014 to 2016 he managed the fine wine department of a startup wine company in London, before joining Decanter as digital sub-editor.

Outside of wine, James enjoys cooking, skiing, playing guitar and cycling.