Clive Platman on how Spain's famous wine region is changing with the times.

Rioja, easily Spain’s most famous red wine region, has a proud tradition.

As a brand, Rioja is regarded as one of the great classic regions, ranking in many ways alongside Bordeaux in France or Chianti in Italy. It is seen as the great custodian of the tempranillo grape, yet in a style that has undergone long cask-ageing.

Rioja, though, is fully conscious of the New World threat from South America and Australia, and over the last 30 years the style has undergone an evolution, rather than revolution.

Oak and structure still remain the Rioja signature, but the modern trend is for a higher fruit content. Wood retains a prominent role and, here, the traditional preference is for American oak, which by virtue of its coarser grain offers more assertive qualities of vanilla, spice and cocoa.

However, there has been a significant increase in the use of French oak in recent years and this allows a more fruit-driven style, albeit supported by fine tannins and more pronounced toast.

Red wine accounts for 90 per cent of the total wine produced, and roughly 75 per cent is from tempranillo. Other native varieties allowed in the blend are garnacha (grenache), mazuelo (carignan) and the very fine, tough-skinned graciano.

Sheltered by the Cantabrian mountains to the north, the two finer sub-regions of Rioja Alta and Alavesa are cooler, influenced by both altitude and the Atlantic climate. The third zone, Rioja Baja, is more Mediterranean and here the garnacha grape has prominence.

Traditionally, Rioja was not simply a blend of grapes, but also a blend of all three zones. Bodegas would buy in grapes from anywhere within the DOC and blend them to sell on under their own label. In the past, some bodegas did not actually own any vines, but times have changed.

With this background, I was recently invited to a Vina Pomal tasting put on for Majestic store managers, presented by winemaker Diego Pinilla-Navarra. Now part of the Cava giant, Codorniu, it is one of several labels produced by Bodegas Bilbainas, one of the oldest estates in the region and having the largest vineyard holding in the Rioja Alta sub-region.

The winery was originally founded by a French company in the late 19th century and purchased by a Bilbao wine-merchant in 1901. He wanted to tap into the industrial boom that this port city was enjoying and ensure ready supplies of good Rioja wine. The name was changed to Bodegas Bilbainas and initially the company sold cava as well as brandy.

As the original family fragmented, there was a loss of direction but in 1997 Codorniu stepped in to revive flagging fortunes. Since then, there has been massive investment and a consequent improvement in quality.

The Vina Pomal Crianza (£9.99) is from bought-in grapes and spends a minimum of 12 months in oak. The 2009 has flavours of sour-cherry laced with liquorice, cinnamon, vanilla and coconut. Smooth and velvety, the wine had a pleasing structure.

The grapes for the Reserva (£12.99) are sourced from their own vineyards and the wine is aged for between 12-18 months in cask. The 2006 was quite meaty and a step up in quality, delivering a lingering sweet-fruit finish. This is to be followed by the lighter, but more elegant 2007.

Other wines sampled, but not listed by Majestic, were a very impressive 2004 Gran Reserva, which had superb length and concentration, and a single-variety Graciano 2007, full of bilberry fruit and wood-shavings. I also enjoyed the Alto de la Caseta 2007, a modern “high expression” style, bursting with cherries, toast and soft, earthy notes.

Whilst on the subject, I also visited the excellent Nickolls and Perks in Stourbridge for one of its tutored tastings. It was great to see the evening was so well patronised and amongst the highlights was a Darien Rioja Reserva 2007 (£14.50). It is smooth, elegant and spicy, with black-cherry and chocolate flavours.

* For Vina Pomal, visit your local Majestic branch, and for the Darien Rioja go to www.nickollsandperks.co.uk, or visit its “tastings” page for future events.