I have a stack of Wine Spectator magazines by my chair that slowly get read when I have to be somewhere for a while, and can’t be sure of internet access. So I never get to them in any timely fashion; I also gave up other wine review subscriptions since I wasn’t able to keep up. (WS is free for some reason)
But the May 31 issue of this year has a front cover featuring Rioja, which they state is the first time since 2012 that is has gotten that recognition. And the extensive feature article and producer profiles are all pretty solid, and worth the read. It seemed longer and more detailed than their typical regional profile. Overall they think the 2021 vintage will be on par with the 2001 of the prior era.
Article/issue are worth a read for those who care about Rioja.
PS: James Molesworth also has an overview of 2022 in bottle Bordeaux, which was a hot year he compares to 2003. And he notes that he has now dropped his rating on 2003 to ‘89 points’ for that year, given that cellaring has been counterproductive for many efforts.