The first level of wines in Rioja according to the aging criteria is the Guarantee of origin (we will not speak about quality since at any of the levels we will describe the quality of the wines can be excellent, very good, etc.).
The guarantee of origin in a label of Rioja wine indicates that the grapes come from Rioja region and the wines have been produced here. These wines do normally spend small or no time in oak barrels. They are also normally very fruity. These wines, in the Rioja Alavesa sub-region have been traditionally produced following the carbonic maceration process.
There are exceptions to this idea of small or no aging time for these wines. This would apply to the cases in which the oenologist may decide to be creative and make a wine which does not fall into any of the categories we will describe. In these circumstances the wines are included in the guarantee of origin label.
When these wines are actually young and with no oak aging, the recommended drinking time is no later than the second year after harvesting.