True indeed, and exactly in the way the French do with their system of
declassifying the wines. But concerning Spain: al the mayor wineries (like
Marques de Caceres) tend not to do that, so the backlabel should give you an
indication. It might well be, though, that they are sending declassified
wines tot the USA. And of course those wines will be good quality, but they
are considered less by the winery itself. In Europe (i.e. Spain and Holland)
I never encountered bottles like that.

Hillebrand.

"Santiago G.H." wrote in message
. 1.4...
"H.J. van der Veen" wrote in
:

The main thing is: IF a Spanish wine is a Crianza, it MUST be labeled
on the bottle. The same with Reserva and Gran Reserva. There should be
a "back label" on the bottle, with the law-approved number, AND this
statement (crianza, reserva, gran reserva). If it isn't there, you can
almost be sure, that the wine is a young one (Joven).

Well, as you point, it is not always that way. It is true that each D.O.
(Denominación de Origen, similar to A.O.C.) has some rules for a wine to
be
labelled as Crianza, Reserva or Gran Reserva. But it is also true that a
winery can sell a wine with a Crianza backlabel even if it could be
legally
released as a Reserva. While this is not usually the case, there is a
bunch
of wineries in Spain that are releasing their wines without aging
backlabel, that means... as a young wine, when they are not. And, some of
this wines are amongst the best.

Best,

Santiago