As you surely know if you have been seeing our offers for any length of time, we have been fans of the talented folks at CVNE for a long time. But among their three separate, high performance wineries, Contino holds a special place for us. Back in the early 90s, before the coming of the ‘Spanish invasion’ lead by Jorge Ordonez and Eric Solomon, there were two wineries that kind of opened our eyes to the world of Spanish wines in general. One of them was Contino (the other was Mauro for reference sake). We have plying the varied wares from CVNE (Compañía Vinícola del Norte del España, aka Cune) under their Contino, Vina Real and Imperial labels, ever since.
That means there is almost always something exciting from them coming down the pipe under one of those three labels, all of which are run as separate wineries. Among them Contino has a somewhat unique position. The Cune people refer to Contino as the ‘first chateau in Rioja’, a reference to the comparison between this property and the typical profile of a Bordeaux chateau. The estate is formed by 62 hectares of vineyard in Rioja Alavesa, considered the best of the three regional designations in Rioja (Baja, Alta, and Alavesa). Contino, as it exists today was founded in 1973.
The history of the property itself dates from the 16th century, and that history is reflected in its name. The “contino” was the officer in charge of the guard corps of a hundred soldiers who protected the royal family “de contino” (continuously) from the times of the Catholic Monarchs onwards.
A single vineyard wine is still a pretty rare thing in Rioja, though that is changing somewhat with a surge of winemakers passionate about establishing more specific ‘village’ and ‘pago’ (vineyard) identities. We have done a number of offers on Contino over the years, our last missive on the Rioja Reserva 2014. When we wrote that piece, we closed with saying we got the deal on the 2014 “probably because the purveyor was itching to get their hands on the highly publicized 2015 and 2016 vintage.” Now we can see why. The 2015 is muy, muy bueno!
This Reserva is made up of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano, and 5% a combination of Mazuelo y Garnacha. The wine is made in the traditional manner and placed in barrels already used oak (40% American and 60% French) where it remained for two years plus the additional minimum of two more years in bottle aging in the cellars until it is released to the market.
It has the same style points as the previous classics, but has more volume, richness, and outgoing fruit. The color is a deep, vibrant maroon, and the nose gives the immediate impression of ripe cassis and black cherry.
In the mouth there is simply ‘more’. The fruit is lush and vibrant, the acidity is refined and well tucked away, and its is loaded with engaging ripe flavors. Like a Bordeaux, this Contino Rioja Reserva 2015 exudes elegance, yet in this vintage there is an increased level of juiciness. It differs from other great vintages in that it is, flat out, flashier from start to finish.
Early ‘reports’ are impressive. From Wine Advocate’s Luis Gutierrez, “…a blend…t hat wants to express the character of the Contino estate…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…94 points.”
James Suckling was gushing in this review from 2018, “This shows so much intense dark berry such as blueberries and blackberries with hints of flowers. Lavender too. Full body, dense tannins with freshness and intensity. So tight and focused. A classic Rioja. Need five to six years of bottle age to come around. Try in 2024… 96 points.”
You can wait if you want to, but we have enjoyed a few bottles already with relish thanks to that outgoing fruit component. Either way, this is a real winner from a source with a great track record.