Cune Imperial Reserva Rioja - 2018

75 cl

Robert Parker: 94 points

Alcohol content: 14% vol.

Grape varieties: 85% Tempranillo, 15% Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnaca

Vinifiaktion:

The grapes are harvested by hand in 300kg pallets. The crates are stored in a cold store for 24 hours to prevent oxidation, stabilise the colour and preserve the aromas of the fruit. The grapes then undergo a second selection process before being transported by gravity for fermentation in oak barrels of different capacities (80, 120 and 160 hectolitres), depending on the size of the winery. For alcoholic fermentation, we use our own yeasts, selected from the vineyards destined for the Imperial wines. The maceration lasts about 20 days, during which we alternate different types of remontage depending on the progress of the fermentation and the wine samples tasted. Malolactic fermentation takes place in concrete and wooden vats and the wine is then aged in American and French oak barrels (new or single-varietal). The wines from the different vineyards are aged separately, with each vineyard being matured in the barrel best suited to its organoleptic characteristics. Once ageing is complete, the final blending takes place before clarification and bottling.

Matured for 24 months in American and French barriques.

Tasting note:

Dark, matured garnet red, spicy, ripe Tempranillon nose with powerful, ripe berry aromas, rum pot, distinctly ripe spicy and sweet American oak aromas, full-bodied and smooth on the palate, good fruit sweetness, elegant and harmonious, beguiling palate aromas characterised by concentrated dried fruit aromas, soft tannins on the finish. A very fine Rioja classic of the upper class.

Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España:

The Imperial Reserva 2019 comes from a very healthy year with good maturity and balance, a vigorous vintage with a vegetative cycle of 185 days. They are looking for finesse, precision and power, a blend of Tempranillo and 15% Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnacha, which was visually sorted and fermented in oak barrels with selected yeasts from the Imperial vineyards and a 20-day maceration, then aged in barrels, 70% French and the rest American, for 24 months. It has 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.61. It is very classic, with finesse and power, balanced and serious. Its tannins invite you to eat. 150,000 bottles were produced. It was bottled in June 2022.

The Imperial winery is a small and unique independent artisan winery within the original CVNE complex in Haro, where the company was founded. Since 1920, it has been one of the best wines in Spain and is only produced in years with exceptional harvests in Rioja: the Imperial.

The winery's flagship wine was named the best wine in the world by the renowned American magazine Wine Spectator in 2013, making it the first Spanish wine to receive this honour.

It owes its name to a special bottling for the English market in a bottle known as an Imperial Pint (an Imperial Pint is about half a litre).

The winery has French oak barrels of different capacities and the winemaking process is subject to strict quality controls. The wines are controlled using artisanal techniques that are customised for each parcel. The barrels are matured in the Eiffel facility, which was built in 1909 by the studio of the famous architect.