When you spend a small fortune on a famous French red, it’s nice to know that in return you get the exquisite combination of intense flavor married to ethereal elegance for which the wines of France set the standard for the world. But here’s something even nicer: you don’t have to bust the budget to get that experience—it’s not a French monopoly. I was intrigued—and thrilled—to find that magic in the 2021 Luis Cañas Rioja Alavesa Crianza, just $19.99 on case purchases of 12 bottles or more ($21.99 for 1 to 11 bottles; reg. $24.99). It's all there in a graceful, beautifully realized wine at an eminently reasonable price.

As an unrepentant wine Francophile, I will never tell you to replace your $500 bottle of Château Ausone with a Rioja, even one this good. Scale matters. But by the same token, soil—what the French call terroir—is destiny, and it doesn't matter whether the soil is in Spain or France. Rioja Alavesa is underpinned by chalky, limestone-rich soils that define the region’s style. Poor in nutrients but rich in structure, limestone soils produce wines of clarity, depth, and inner perfume.

One such wine is Château Ausone, the crown jewel of the limestone-rich St.-Émilion plateau. Another is the 2021 Luis Cañas Rioja Alavesa Crianza; this, even though one is based on Merlot and the other on Tempranillo. That is the power of terroir—particularly great terroir.

I don't state that because I believe in terroir in the abstract; I say it because I can taste it in the grace and snap of the wine. So will you. For those like me who worship wines like Ausone, the 2021 Luis Cañas Rioja Alavesa is a deeply resonant experience—one I’m thrilled to share with you today—at a conspicuously non-Ausone price. Don't miss it!

Rioja’s tiny Alavesa region produces some of the most refined and vineyard-expressive wines in all of Rioja—check that, in the entire world. So why haven’t you heard all that much about Alavesa? It’s not because you haven’t been paying attention. It’s because the traditional Rioja classification system inadvertently obscures the subtle regional distinctions that set Alavesa apart.

For better or worse (I think worse), Rioja wines have traditionally been defined by whether they are joven, crianza, reserva, or gran reserva. But here’s the problem: these terms mostly tell you how long the wine spent in oak. What they don’t tell you is the individual character of the Rioja subregions or the unique contribution of the terroir, which is precisely what Alavesa is all about.

Rioja Alavesa stands apart from the rest of Rioja because it rises above it, literally and stylistically. Its vineyards climb the slopes below the Sierra Cantabria, sitting even higher than the better-known Rioja Alta and far higher than the warm plains of the workhorse Rioja Oriental.

The elevation slows ripening and preserves acidity, giving the wines a natural brightness that registers immediately on the palate. Tempranillo grown here, in the region’s deep, limestone-rich soils, feels taut and energetic, with a crisp precision and inner perfume that I find irresistible.

Here are the details:

** The 2021 Luis Cañas Rioja Alavesa is made from 95% Tempranillo and 5% Garnacha, with an average vine age of 35 years or more. The hand-harvested grapes go through a double sorting of bunches and berries at the winery. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks over a period of 10 to 15 days. The wine is then aged for twelve months in a combination of 60% French and 40% American oak barrels.

** Where some Rioja vintages lean toward richness and warmth, the cool conditions of 2021 brought freshness, clarity, and lift. The fruit ripened evenly with full flavor development while retaining the vibrancy of Tempranillo’s natural acidity.

** The 2021 Luis Cañas Crianza is a vivid reminder that Rioja’s winemaking roots are French. The modern region took shape in the late nineteenth century when Bordeaux winemakers crossed the Pyrenees to escape the phylloxera epidemic that devastated the vineyards of the Médoc and St.-Émilion. While the styles later diverged, with Rioja historically favoring a more oak-influenced profile, the winemaking here is thoroughly modern and unmistakably Bordelais in its exquisite balance of fruit, structure, and judicious oak.

Bodegas Luis Cañas began as a family operation more than a century ago, producing young wines by traditional methods and transporting them across the mountains by mule.

In 1970, Luis Cañas began bottling the estate’s wines, establishing one of Rioja Alavesa’s first modern wineries. His son Juan Luis took over in 1989 at age thirty-three and guided the estate toward meticulously made, terroir-focused wines.

Today the winery farms just under 1,000 acres of estate and grower vineyards planted on the limestone slopes that define the region, many of which are too narrow or steep for mechanization. Vines average around thirty years of age, with some parcels far older.

The estate was the first in Spain to introduce a double manual sorting system, one for whole clusters and another for individual berries. This level of precision, similar to what one finds at top Bordeaux château, shows clearly in the wine’s purity and poise.

Luis Cañas Crianza Rioja 2021

Although this wine comes from Rioja’s tiny Alavesa region and is made primarily from Tempranillo, I found the style reminiscent of top-notch St.-Émilion, combining complex flavors with notable elegance. The color is deep ruby red with hints of garnet toward the rim. With a quick swirl, aromas of strawberry, plum, black cherry, cedar, and a touch of vanilla rise from the glass. On the palate, the wine is smooth and silky, supported by polished tannins and lively acidity. The finish is long and first-rate, the sine qua non of any great red, with lingering notes of red fruit, spice, and minerality. Its balance and fine tannins make it versatile with roast chicken, lamb chops, Manchego, mushrooms, and other classic dishes.

— Ben Giliberti, CW Director of Wine Education

"Juicy Bing cherries, peppery herbs, leather, and cedarwood. Medium-bodied, concentrated, and layered, with supple tannins and a long finish."

— 91 points, JebDunnuck.com

Ben Giliberti served as wine columnist for The Washington Post for over two decades, beginning in the early 1980s. His articles on food, wine, and travel have appeared in Wine Spectator, Travel & Leisure, Cigar Aficionado, United Airlines Flyer, Food & Wine, Decanter, The LA Times, Newsday, Wine News, and other publications. A graduate of Yale University, his career in journalism began as a sports commentator for WYBC FM (Yale Broadcasting Company).

Ben joined our team as Calvert Woodley’s Director of Wine Education back in 2010. Since then, he has accumulated a large audience who eagerly await the arrival of his weekly pick every Tuesday. He focuses on value, affordability, and quality. Each newsletter is complete with detailed tasting notes, food pairings, background on the vineyard, winemaking, and more.