Quality designation for DOC/DOCG wines in Italy with higher quality requirements. It is mainly used for wines with longer maturation (usually at least two or more years). The regulations can vary per DOC/DOCG area. The preliminary stage to Riserva is "Vecchio" (old) with lower requirements, the higher stage is "Riserva Speciale" with even higher requirements. There is a certain overlap with the quality term Superiore. Reserva has a similar meaning in Spain and Portugal and Reserve in Germany and Austria.
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Roman Horvath MW
Domäne Wachau (Wachau)