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Thanks to reds like Contino Reserva 2020, Contino is a benchmark for Rioja wine in the world.
Consumption features
Serving temperature
General features
Type of wine
Region
Grape variety
6% Graciano, 2% Garnacha tinta, 86% Tempranillo, 6% Mazuelo
Type of barrel
Barrels bordelesas of French and American oak
Type of bottle
Bordeaux Bottle
Barrel aging time
18 months
Capacity (cl)
75
Bottling
Mayo de 2023
Total acidity (g/l)
5.5
Volatile acidity (g/l)
0.59
pH
3.61
Alcohol content (% vol.)
13.77
General Information
Contino Reserva 2020 is a Reserva red wine produced by Viñedos del Contino from tempranillo, graciano, and mazuelo grapes selected from the highest quality micro-parcels of the estate. A harmonious coupage crafted with care and aged for 18 months in French and American oak barrels, resulting in a simply exceptional glass.
In the 1970s, the people at CVNE (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) focused on a plot in the Laserna area, at the foot of the Roman Mantibres Bridges and protected by the Cerro de la Mesa. There, the Rioja firm designed a modern winery while respecting the old 16th-century cellars of the original construction, ideal for the aging and repose of wines. Bodegas y Viñedos del Contino was born.
Today, the winery has 62 hectares of vineyards, mostly of the renowned tempranillo variety (50 ha). With them, it produces a maximum of 350,000 bottles per vintage destined for the high-end national wine market. So much so that at Viñedos del Contino, wines are no longer produced with Crianza labels. Only Reservas, Gran Reservas, exclusive plots, and special vintages.
For the creation of the wines, the firm uses the latest technologies for production, from cutting-edge selection tables to ensure only the best clusters are vinified to custom tanks for each specific parcel. Under these guidelines, Contino Reserva 2020 is conceived, a red wine from a selection of the best micro-parcels of the estate, with notable differences among them in terms of soil characteristics, but always in search of harmony to deliver an exceptional Reserva. After destemming, the grapes undergo a cold pre-fermentation maceration for 24 hours. Each micro-parcel is processed separately in small stainless steel and concrete tanks, allowing for precise production according to the state of ripeness. The wine rests for 18 months in French oak (95%) and American oak (5%) barrels for aging, finishing with a period of repose in the bottle, in the winery's cellars, until its release to the market.
Creators' opinion
Contino Reserva 2020 is a wine that perfectly expresses and reflects the San Rafael estate, where Viñedos del Contino is located. It expresses the liveliness of our vines, the fluid character of our soils, and the great complexity of the universe of micro-plots into which the estate is divided. Furthermore, in this 2020, we find a wine with great potential to evolve over time. On the nose, it recalls notes of black fruit, very well balanced with the expression of its aging in wood. Both on the palate and in the aftertaste, it is a fluid, silky wine with the personality and character of a reserva.
The winery
Viñedos del Contino is the 'boutique' project of CVNE, a centenary firm from Haro that aimed to establish a small winery in the Rioja Alavesa subzone to create wines with their own personality. They found the perfect location at the San Rafael estate (Laserna, in the municipality of Laguardia), with very old vineyards and bordered by the Ebro River; and around this estate, the project began in 1973.
Contino is considered ahead of its time: it was one of the first 'châteaux' in Rioja, with facilities and vineyard on a single property, in a special area with a microclimate. It was also a pioneer in producing estate wines with a modern approach, featuring more intensity and new oak: the cornerstone of what would later be called 'alta expresión' (high expression).
It started with 35 hectares of vineyard, which have expanded to the current 62. The vineyards grow around the winery, located in an old manor house with 16th-century cellars that preserve the wines in optimal temperature and humidity conditions. Its wines are made exclusively with its own vineyards, and it boasts one of the best tempranillo vineyards in Rioja. Contino initially focused solely on red wines but later expanded its portfolio to include white wines. It has viura and malvasía vineyards that are 80 years old, to which it later added plantings of garnacha blanca. Its barrel-aged white wine is among the best in Spain.