Rioja wines celebrated a medal-winning streak at this year’s wine awards, with a total of 23 gold medals at this year’s key UK-based international wine competitions: the Decanter World Wine Awards, the International Wine & Spirits Competition and the International Wine Challenge.

Overall, gold medals awarded to Rioja this year across all three competitions were equivalent to 48% of the total golds awarded to Spain, the highest of any Spanish region and 60% more gold medals than Bordeaux and Burgundy combined! In total, Rioja won a total 377 medals at the three major awards in 2009, as well as scooping the International Trophy for the best Spanish Varietal over £10 at the Decanter World Wine Awards.

Ricardo Aguiriano San Vicente, from the Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja commented, “We are very pleased with Rioja’s continued success on the international stage which proves the value of steps being taken by wineries and the Consejo alike to ensure the quality of the region’s output and the ability of the wines to perform at the highest level”.

Many of the 102 Rioja wineries that won awards got consistently high scores across the three competitions with particularly impressive hauls for the following bodegas:

Many of the 102 Rioja wineries that won awards got consistently high scores across the three competitions with particularly impressive hauls for the following bodegas:

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• Beronia - two Gold, two Silver and five Bronze
• Luis Cañas - three Gold, two Silver and four Bronze
• Grupo Bodegas Olarra - one Gold, three Silver and six Bronze medals
• The United Wineries group did well with Berberana winning two Gold, six Silver and three Bronze; Lagunilla winning one Gold, one Silver and six Bronze medals; and Marques de la Concordia getting one Silver and a Bronze
• Conde de Valdemar - one Gold, four Silver and nine Bronze
• The Domecq Wineries group (which owns Campo Viejo, Age, Ysios and Juan Alcorta) won eight Silver and 12 Bronze medals
• Viñedos de Aldeanueva - four Silver and three Bronze
• Aside from the international Spanish varietal trophy, CVNE won a Gold, two Silver and four Bronze
• Baigorri walked away with five Silvers and a Bronze