2018 Imperial Gran Reserva
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Tasting Notes
This was a real highlight of the vertical. It is very youthful still, fruit-forward, yet with amazing finesse and delicacy. The nose is precise with dainty aromatics of spice, graphite and florals alongside the crystalline fruit. The palate is juicy and lithe, pure, silken and fresh with savoury tobacco and dried red berries filling the mouth-watering finish. Beautiful and very open, even now. Fermented in oak, 14% alcohol and bottled July 2021.
Produced from CVNE's best vineyard sites, the 2018 Imperial Gran Reserva, as with the 2016, is born of the small plots of Remedio and Encinas, between 550 and 650 metres’ altitude, with some inclusion of fruit from low-yielding vines from the plots of Barbarroja and Antoñanzas. A blend of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo, it spends 24 months in French (80%) and American (20%) oak barrels (new and from 1 wine). It offers a luscious nose of dark chocolate, liquorice root, fresh red plums, bright cherry and blueberry, with gentle hints of graphite and mocha. Much like the nose, there is remarkable freshness on the palate and generous notes of tobacco, bramble and molasses. Though still in its relative youth, there are clear signs of development and potential here. Fine, tightly wound tannins will most certainly soften given a few more years in bottle. Vivacious and approachable with air now, keep for at least five years to allow this wine to reach its full potential.
Critic Scores
Average Score
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
Zekun Shuai, James Suckling
More reviews and scores
Fresh blackberries, plums, smoked spices, graphite and cocoa powder. So juicy and firm, with fresh, abundant tannins coming from the fruit and spicy oak, but all woven in a fine-grained form, which clearly shows aging potential. Medium- to full-bodied with a very long finish. Try after 2026.
“The 2018 Imperial Gran Reserva was cropped from a year with the weather from yesteryear, a cold winter with frost, snow and abundant rain, a cool spring and mild summer that resulted in a long vegetative cycle of 180 days and a late harvest between October 8th and 26th. It has similar parameters to the 2017 I tasted next to it, with 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.55 and 6.03 grams of acidity, but it shows fresher. It feels very complete, fresh and vibrant, with more depth and tannin. It's still quite young and should develop nicely in bottle with that extra kick from the cooler year. It was a smaller crop, and they produced 56,000 bottles. It was bottled in July 2021.”
About the producer
CVNE, or Compañía Vinicola del Norte de España (the Northern Spanish Wine Company), is one of Rioja’s leading names. With its various brands – Cune, Viña Real, Contino and Imperial – CVNE produces both large volumes and high quality, with its Imperial Gran Reserva one of the region’s finest wines.