Rioja is excellent: the profile from the QDO wines stands out, garnering medals and mentions in the main global evaluations

• The Qualified Designation of Origin achieved 773 international recognitions in June, the most awarded in Spain.
• Rioja is the most awarded Spanish DO at the Decanter World Wine Awards, with 430 accolades, capturing almost a quarter of the Spanish medal tally.
• The Concours Mondial de Bruxelles (CMB) reaffirms the international prestige of the QDO with 3 grand golds, 28 gold medals, and 42 silver medals.
• Club Oenologique awards 99 points to two Rioja wines, the only ones from Spain to reach this category, and places 270 wines from the QDO above 90 points.

Rioja reaffirms its leadership and international prestige, being the most awarded Designation of Origin in Spain in the most renowned publications and competitions in the sector, held this past June. In just the past two weeks, the QDO Rioja has garnered 773 medals and recognitions in three renowned forums: The Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles (CMB), and the Rioja Report 2025 by Club Oenologique.  

The three institutions praise the quality of Rioja wines and extol their diversity, confirming the extraordinary moment the Denomination is experiencing, which coincides with the year Rioja commemorates its 100 years of history.

Rioja Report 2025: excellence, diversity, and creativity beyond comparison

According to the prestigious British magazine Club Oenologique, which recently published the “Rioja Report 2025” – the latest installment of its report “The Spain Report” – “there are very few regions in the world that can produce so many different wines with that level of quality.” “If we combine quality and diversity, it is difficult to come up with another region that can offer as many excellent wines as Rioja.”

In this year’s report, led by Master of Wine Pedro Ballesteros, 270 Rioja wines have achieved 90 points or more, and 50 have been rated with more than 95 points, which represents a notable difference compared to other Spanish Denominations of Origin, with Rioja wines garnering the highest scores.

Furthermore, after an intense blind tasting exercise of more than 300 references, the MW has awarded 99 points to two Rioja wines, being the only ones from Spain to achieve this score. Rioja therefore surpasses its previous results in this year’s performance, in which Ballesteros extols the quality he has perceived and the diversity of the Denomination: “Tasting Rioja blind is a fascinating experience, I have tasted whites, reds, rosés, and sparkling wines; Rioja is a magnet for wine lovers, both curious and adventurous. It is one of the few Spanish regions where the generational transition is successfully taking place. Many young people experiment with various subjects” and concludes “this is a land of creativity.”

Rioja leads the rankings in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2025

The DOCa once again stands out in the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2025, one of the most influential competitions in the world of wine, organized by the renowned publication Decanter, whose results were announced two weeks ago.

In this edition, with 430 awarded wines, Rioja accounts for almost a quarter of the total medals given to Spanish wines.

The excellent performance of Rioja is evident in the quality of its recognitions: 3 wines from the DOCa have reached the coveted platinum category, reserved for creations that border on perfection with scores between 97 and 100 points, along with 21 golds, which reward the excellence of wines scoring between 95 and 96 points, 192 silver medals (between 90 and 94 points), and 214 bronze medals (between 86 and 89 points) that complete an extraordinary record.

Rioja, therefore, maintains its leadership position, being the most awarded Designation of Origin in Spain, reflecting the consistency and quality of its production in a context of increasing international competition.

Rioja, firm at the top of Spanish wine at the Brussels World Contest

For its part, the 2025 Brussels World Contest (Concours Mondial de Bruxelles), whose results were announced last week, crowns Rioja as the undisputed benchmark of quality Spanish viticulture: the QDO is, once again, the Spanish Denomination that encompasses the most medals, with a total of 73.

The extraordinary record of Rioja includes 3 Grand Gold medals, the highest distinction reserved for exceptional wines, 28 gold medals, and 42 silver medals.

The Qualified Designation of Origin Rioja thus demonstrates how its quality and diversity are driving attributes of the prestige it enjoys both within and outside of Spain, achieving excellent results in some of the most demanding competitions in the global wine industry.