What is Reserve?

Understanding Reserve

Reserve (also spelled Reserva, Riserva, or Réserve depending on country) is one of the most commonly seen and most commonly misunderstood terms on a wine label, in part because its legal meaning differs enormously across wine-producing nations. In Spain, "Reserva" is a legally protected and tightly defined classification that requires a minimum of three years of total aging for red wines, with at least one year spent in oak barrels, while "Gran Reserva" demands five years total aging including at least two in oak. Italy's "Riserva" rules vary by appellation but always require longer aging than the standard wine—a Chianti Classico Riserva, for example, must be aged at least 24 months versus 12 months for the regular bottling. France uses "Réserve" loosely with no legal definition outside of Champagne (where reserve wines are kept from previous vintages for blending into non-vintage cuvées), and in the United States, Australia, and most of the New World, "Reserve" has no legal meaning whatsoever and can be used by any producer to imply quality regardless of how the wine was actually made. This makes Reserve one of the most powerful marketing terms in wine—it suggests prestige and age-worthiness, and consumers willingly pay more for bottles bearing the word—even though in many regions a "Reserve" bottling may be functionally identical to the standard wine. Savvy buyers learn to read Reserve in context: in Rioja or Brunello, it carries genuine guarantees about how the wine was made; on a generic California label, it may simply reflect the producer's marketing instincts.

Examples

• 1Rioja Reserva must age three years total with one year in oak barrels
• 2Chianti Classico Riserva requires 24 months of aging vs 12 for standard Chianti Classico
• 3A California "Reserve" Cabernet has no legal definition and quality varies by producer
• 4Champagne houses use reserve wines from past vintages to blend their non-vintage cuvées for consistency

Related Wine Terms