Campo Viejo Rioja Reserva 2019 Review: Sometimes Popular Wine Is Popular for a Reason

I’ll admit it, I picked this bottle up with a little bit of wine snobbery already creeping in.

Campo Viejo is probably one of the most recognisable Rioja brands in the UK. It’s everywhere. Supermarkets, pubs, restaurants, pretty much anywhere selling a few bottles of red will usually have some form of Campo Viejo knocking around.

As my wine journey has progressed, particularly with Rioja, I’ve naturally started moving towards wines like Viña Tondonia and Viña Alberdi. Wines with a bit more age, complexity and that savoury character that I’ve really started to love.

So coming back to a bottle of Campo Viejo Reserva 2019 was actually quite interesting.

And hands up, this was delicious.

Campo Viejo Reserva 2019

This is a Rioja Reserva from the 2019 vintage and, as you would expect from the style, oak plays a pretty significant part.

The American oak influence comes through immediately, particularly on the nose. There’s cinnamon, a slight coconut character and plenty of sweet spice, but underneath all of that is a big hit of dark fruit jam.

That sweetness was the first thing that really stood out to me.

It’s incredibly inviting. There’s nothing difficult or restrained about the nose here. You smell it and immediately want to take a sip, and I can completely understand why this style of Rioja has such broad appeal.

I initially wondered whether some of that overt sweetness was there specifically to make the wine more appealing to the mass market. Maybe it is, but after actually drinking it, I’m not sure that really matters.

Sometimes something is popular because it tastes good.

In The Glass

The palate follows the nose really nicely.

Again, the American oak influence is in full swing. Cinnamon and that slight coconut note sit alongside ripe, jammy dark fruit and give the wine an instantly likeable character.

There isn’t loads of tannic grip here. It’s soft, smooth and incredibly easy to drink, which again probably explains why Campo Viejo works so well as a supermarket Rioja.

There is, however, a very slight green herbaceous note right at the end. And I mean slight.

I’m particularly sensitive to green flavours in red wine and too much bell pepper or herbaceous character can really put me off. Here it was nowhere near enough to become distracting. If anything, it gave the finish a little bit of contrast against all that ripe fruit and sweet oak.

The wine isn’t hugely complex, but I don’t think it’s pretending to be.

It’s just bloody enjoyable.

Maybe Ribeye Wasn’t The Perfect Choice

I opened this alongside ribeye and, looking back, I probably slightly misjudged the pairing.

With all the fat running through a ribeye I usually want something with a bit more tannic grip and structure. Something that can really get hold of the protein and fat.

Campo Viejo Reserva is much softer than that.

It certainly didn’t ruin dinner, but I think the wine would probably be even better alongside something where you don’t need quite as much structure from the glass. Barbecued meat, burgers, sausages or even a good pizza would probably be more its territory.

That said, there are definitely worse problems to have than drinking Rioja and eating ribeye.

Have I Been Unfair To Campo Viejo?

Probably.

The more wine I taste, the easier it becomes to start looking for complexity in absolutely everything.

I love the tertiary notes and savoury depth you can get from more traditional Rioja. Give me leather, tobacco, forest floor and a wine that keeps changing in the glass and I’m very happy.

Campo Viejo Reserva isn’t really trying to give you that experience.

Instead, you get ripe dark fruit, obvious American oak, cinnamon, coconut and a soft structure that makes it immediately enjoyable.

And there is absolutely a place for that.

In fact, wines like this are probably how a lot of people first discover Rioja. They’re approachable, widely available and don’t require you to sit there analysing the glass for half an hour before they start giving something back.

Through The Terroir Verdict

This bottle reminded me of something quite important.

Not every wine needs to challenge you.

Sometimes you just want to pour a glass, take a sip and think, that’s delicious.

Campo Viejo Reserva 2019 does exactly that. The American oak is obvious, the fruit is ripe and jammy and there isn’t a huge amount of tannic structure, but everything comes together into a wine that’s ridiculously easy to like.

Is it Viña Tondonia? Of course it isn’t.

Does it need to be?

Absolutely not.

I went into this expecting to find the reasons why my palate had moved beyond Campo Viejo.

Instead, I ended up remembering why so many people buy it in the first place.