Contino Reserva, Rioja, Spain

孔蒂諾酒莊珍藏紅葡萄酒

點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)：6171

Violet, strawberry, raspberry and orange-peel aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, with minerality and brightness. Vivid. A wonderful change here. Energy. So much purity. Drink or hold.

The grapes for the 2019 Reserva were picked earlier than in 2018, and they achieved lower alcohol in a warmer vintage. The wine is 13.89% alcohol, but picking early and with a shorter cycle in a hurried ripeness also means less aroma and flavor development. The warmer year delivered a higher pH, and the wine comes through as a little softer and with riper flavors. There are 313,666 bottles and 3,500 magnums of this. It was bottled in March 2022, after 18 months in barrel.

I tasted two vintages of the estate red that represents the blend and the character of the place. The 2018 Reserva comes from a cooler year and is a blend of 86% Tempranillo, 6% Mazuelo, 6% Graciano and 2% Garnacha with 14.12% alcohol and a pH of 3.48. The grapes ripened thoroughly and the wine is tasty but has a vibrant palate with freshness and depth. It has a classical nose and is complex and spicy with an earthy touch, a little developed and with fine-grained tannins. Very tasty. It spent 18 months in oak barrels, 90% of them French and 10% American; they are reducing the amount of American oak in this wine. 290,998 bottles and 3,500 magnums produced. It was bottled in June 2021.

The renewed classical red 2016 Reserva was produced as a blend of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo. It fermented in small stainless steel and concrete vats and matured in 225-liter French (80%) and American (20%) oak barrels for 18 months. It has a very expressive nose, open, aromatic and showy, a little Rh?ne-ish. 2016 was a cooler year and they had a long harvest, and it seems like the fruit ripened thoroughly without excess. It's a natural continuation of the 2015, when the wine already had more freshness and better integrated oak. It has a full body and some dusty tannins, finishing dry and tasty. It's ready to drink. There were 281,389 bottles and 3,000 magnums produced. It was bottled in May 2019.

The 2015 Reserva is a blend of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% split between Mazuelo and Garnacha that wants to express the character of the Contino estate. It fermented in 12,000-liter stainless steel at 28 degrees to 30 degrees Cesius with 15 to 20 days of maceration and an élevage in 60% French and 40% American oak barrels for two years. It feels fresher than the 2014, and it also shows younger, with better integrated oak, subtle aromas and nice balance. It's medium-bodied, with very fine tannins and good freshness, integrated and balanced. I look forward to tasting the 2016 of this wine, because this 2015 is going in a direction that I like. 286,943 bottles and 4,000 magnums produced. It was bottled in June 2018.