2015 | Vinedos del Contino | Vina del Olivo 6L

It is rich, ripe and modern in feel, with superb balance of plush fruit character, clean acidity and generosity of oak.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The one vineyard-designated red I tasted was the 2015 Viña del Olivo, from a specific plot of vines on chalk-rich soils with clay instead of the more common alluvial stones found on the estate and planted in 1980. It's a blend of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo. It fermented in one 10,000-liter oak vat followed by malolactic in new oak barrels (70% French, 20% American and 10% Hungarian), where the wine aged for 18 months with racking every six months. It's a modern, ripe and generously oaked Rioja built for the future. This is a structured and slightly international, "expensively made" wine that gains with time in bottle as it absorbs the effect of the élevage and shows the character of the great vineyards from where it's sourced. Right now, there are lots of tannins too, and the flavors are very oak related, with spices, toast, smoke and coffee. It ends dry. Made in the style of the end of the 1990s, it's for fans of that style and for the future. 9,328 bottles and some larger formats were filled in May 2017.

• James Suckling: This is energetic with blackberry, stone and dried lemon rind. Full and tightly structured. Minerality and freshness is superb. Black olive turns to black pepper. Lively finish. Drink or hold.

Producer Information

Viñedos del Contino is a wine estate in Rioja Alavesa known for its ageworthy red wines based on Tempranillo, and often featuring Graciano. It was founded in 1973 as a partnership between the owners of Finca San Rafael in Alavesa, and a group of directors from CVNE. Since the end of 2013 the CVNE group has owned 95 percent of the company. Along with Remelluri, Contino is regarded as a pioneer of single-vineyard wines and the château concept in the region. This is in contrast to the traditional system of wineries being supplied by network of small growers. There are 62 hectares (153 acres) under vine in Laguardia, on alluvial pebble soils within a bend in the Ebro river, protected by the Cerro de la Mesa (Table Hill). Individual plots are cultivated seprately; fruit is all harvested by hand. The estate combines a modern winery with a 16th-Century cellar for aging wines in optimum temperatures and humidity levels. The former manor house upon which the estate was founded dates back to this time; a Contino was an officer in charge of a corps of guards who protected the royal family.

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