El Coto De Imaz Rioja Gran Reserva
Regular price £23.50
Unit price per
tax included
El Coto was founded in 1970 in Rioja Alavesa and has grown from modest beginnings into one of the best known of Rioja producers. Today El Coto has over 700 hectares of vineyard in production across the three Rioja DOCa sub-zones of Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja and Rioja Alavesa. They also source grapes from all three areas, but mostly from Rioja Alavesa. Head winemaker Cesar Fernandez oversees production, starting with hand-picking into 350 kg crates to ensure the grapes arrive at the winery in pristine condition. Modern and intelligently designed, the emphasis in the winery is on temperature control and gentle handling of the grapes.
Vineyards
Grapes for the two Coto de Imaz wines are picked exclusively from El Coto's estate in Cenicero in Rioja Alta, where the soils are limestone and clay.
Vinification
After harvest, only the best grapes are selected for this wine, as the maceration on the skin lasts for three to four weeks. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks at 22-30ºC. The resulting wine is then aged in new French and American oak for a minimum of 24 months before bottling.
Tasting Notes
The Gran Reserva has a brilliant ruby-red colour with tinges of brick red. Mature and elegant, the wine's rich aromatic complexity is initially subtle, revealing itself more and more as the wine breathes. Toasted oak nuances and coconut give way to notes of leather and damp earth from bottle ageing. On the palate, silky, rounded tannins accompany fresh red berries, dried raisins and spicy notes. This is a complex wine with exceptional concentration and a long finish.