Rioja Reserva Contino 2019

Contino Rioja Reserva is a truly magnificent wine made from a blend of 86% Tempranillo, 6% Mazuelo, 6% Graciano and 2% Garnacha. This blend gives the wine a lovely freshness, which brings elegance and finesse to every mouthful. The fruit is super luscious with dark red fruit notes, strawberry and dark cherry along with damson and spice notes coming through. It is aged in a combination of French and American oak for two years along with a further year’s ageing in bottle in the cellar. It is a magnificent example of terroir driven Rioja and a wine that has been ahead of its time for over 40 years.

Contino is a pioneering, 62ha estate that was established in 1973 as the first single estate Rioja. Its creation marked a significant step towards the idea of terroir in Rioja, a notion that was overlooked at the time. The Contino estate is based on the concept of a Bordeaux style Chateau with its own surrounding vineyards rather than a winery that bought grapes from several different regions. The estate and its vineyards sit in a lovely spot within a bend of the river Ebro, Northwest of Logrona in the Rioja Alavasa sub region. They are protected from the north by the Cerro de la Mesa hill which creates a unique microclimate for the vineyards. The vines are old bush vines and some are over 60 years old. The wines are truly spectacular and amongst the region's finest.