Finding a good Rioja at a good price is no longer as easy as it once was. Sure, there are still plenty of young Riojas, both red and white, most of which are pleasant and inexpensive, but there's usually nothing special about them.
Move up to the Crianza category (red wines aged a minimum of 1 year in oak, 2 years total) and especially the Reserva (aged 1 year in oak, three years total), and the prices quickly spiral upward. And many of these Riojas aren't outstanding, at least not for the price. For special occasions we have splurged on expensive (for us) Muga and other prestigious brands of Rioja, and while not exactly disappointed with them, they were far from bargains. They were really nothing compared to some of the Riojas we enjoyed twelve or fifteen years ago in Spain for a small fraction of the price.
Marqués de Riscal Rioja Reserva 2004 is an exception. It has the classic Rioja taste--the fresh acidity wine writers often compare to strawberries combined with the earthy, toasted flavors of oak (Marqués de Riscal ages its Rioja reserva in American oak two years). And you can still often find it for less than $20.
Marqués de Riscal Rioja Reserva is made from 90% Tempranillo--a very versatile grape used to make an incredible range of wines in Spain, from rather coarse and rough Castilian reds to powerful but refined Toros. In body, color, and complexity, Marqués de Riscal Rioja Reserva resembles a good pinot noir (though it's different).
As this is a fairly serious wine, we usually save it for meals especially well suited to it. It's great with many Spanish preparations of venison. It would also go extremely well with duck, grilled beef and especially lamb.
Marqués de Riscal was where the wine we know today as rioja really began. The sticker you see on the lower part of the bottle is a reproduction of the Diploma of Honour from the Bordeaux Exhibition of 1895: Marqués de Riscal was the first non-French wine ever to receive it.