Rioja Rip Off?

[Khandro]

Rioja is graded in 5 categories; Excellent, Very good, Good, satisfactory and (the lowest) Average. The years 2010 and 2011 are classed as 'Excellent', and I am buying from a local small German supermarket a fantastic 2011 Tempranillo Rioja at €1.99 (£1.60) a bottle. Wines of the year 2006 are rated at the lowest, 'Average', and yet looking at the Waitrose price list they are offering a 2006 for £22.99p. How on earth can they justify this?

[Iluvspikey]

Because they are rip-off mechants!!

[diddlydo]

Anyone who buys wine in Waitrose has more money than sense.

[jd_1984]

Because there are always mugs out there who will pay that price thinking they are buying a "classic"!

[Buenchico]

>>>Rioja is graded in 5 categories

Who by?

Rioja is classified as follows:
Rioja (less than a year in oak barrels)
Rioja Crianza (at least one year in oak, and at least two years aging in total)
Rioja Reserva (at least one year in oak, and at least three years aging in total)
Rioja Gran Reserva (at least two years in oak, with a further three years in the bottle)

Unsurprisingly, those wines with the greatest aging tend to be the most expensive. I'd expect a 2004 or 2005 Rioja to be pricey (particularly if it's well-oaked) but I'm a little surprised that a 2006 vintage should attract a fairly high price:
http://www.decanter.com/wine-learning/vintage-guides/regions/Spain-Rioja

Your post makes no reference to the oaking of the wines (which adds to the cost). Further. 'Tempranillo Rioja' is meaningless (or, at least, tautology) since Tempranillo is the principal (or sole) grape in all Riojas.

[doctordb]

Get us a few bottles khandro!

[Buenchico]

It's also worth noting that HM Treasury will get £5.32 (in duty + VAT) from the sale of that bottle in Waitrose.

[Khandro]

Chris: The grape varieties that are currently authorised by the Regulations of the D. O. Ca. Rioja are:

RED: TEMPRANILLO, GARNACHA, GRACIANO, MAZUELO y MATURANA TINTA.
WHITE: VIURA, MALVASÍA, GARNACHA BLANCA, TEMPRANILLO BLANCO, MATURANA BLANCA, TURRUNTÉS, CHARDONNAY, SAUVIGNON BLANC Y VERDEJO.

[Khandro]

Chris; //Who by?// Well everyone really. Wine is judged chiefly by the year, based on climatic conditions and allowing for variations in the grape variety, Tempranillo (far from being "meaningless") ripens early (from where it gets it's name) you can put an average wine in an oak barrel and no matter how long is sits there it will never become an excellent wine.
The five category system seems to be used in some form by all importers; all it is effectively is a 5 star system, as used by many things including hotels; 3 stars doesn't give sufficient subtlety of range, and ten stars would be cumbersome. The 2006 therefor gets only 1 star out of a possible 5.

[Buenchico]

>>>The 2006 therefor gets only 1 star out of a possible 5.

Not by (the well-respected) Decanter.com it doesn't!
(See my link above).

Anyway, years only give a rough guide to the quality of a particular wine. The soil conditions at a particular vineyard (or, in particular, whether the grapes are picked early or late) are just as important.

[Khandro]

^ What do you mean by //The soil conditions at a particular vineyard// ?
5 wine experts including Robert Parker no less, say that 2006 is "drastically worse" than average. Just what are you trying to prove here?