CVNE Imperial Reserva Tinto 2015

Robert Parker, 93 pts

"The analysis of the 2015 Imperial Reserva is almost identical to those of the Viña Real Reserva from the same vintage, but the profile is quite different. This is the more serious Haro-style red, and it has slightly darker fruit and a medium to full-bodied palate with very good grip, powerful but with great balance. The blend is also similar—85% Tempranillo and the rest split between Graciano, Mazuelo, and Garnacha—but these are grapes from Rioja Alta fermented with yeasts selected from their own vineyards. The wine matured in French and American oak barrels for two years. The wines are different, but the quality level is similar. 150,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2018."

The history of the company begins in the winery located in Haro in the neighborhood of the railway station “barrio de la estacion “ which dates back to 1879. Close to the railway tracks which during a time drove into the cellar to easily transport easily the wine in oak barrels and then in bottles.The 545 hectares of vineyards that CVNE owns account for 50% of the company's production, and are distributed between the two subregions of Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa, an area of calcareous clay soils, ferrous clay and alluvial soils, under the influence of the Atlantic and Mediterranean climates.The winery is composed of 22 buildings, which include the original 1879 premises, as well as the plant designed and built by the Eiffel architectural studio in 1909.This winery combines tradition, quality, and innovation. In 1940 it was a pioneer with the construction of the first concrete fermentation cellar in Spain. In the 80´s it was the pioneer with the first vinification non-aggressive plant, through the use of gravity.