Viña del Olivo, Contino 2019 (750 ml)

96 poena – James Suckling

Viñedos del Contino je osnovan 1973. godine, uvodeći koncept „château“ vinarije u regionu Rioje. Njihova vina se proizvode isključivo od grožđa sa 62 hektara vinograda koji okružuju porodičnu kuću, smještenu u meandru rijeke Ebro, u mjestu Laserna, blizu sela Laguardia u regionu Rioja Alavesa.

Viña del Olivo predstavlja najviši izraz terroira vinarije Contino, budući da potiče sa jednog od rijetkih posjeda sa glinasto-krečnjačkim zemljištem (dok su ostali uglavnom aluvijalni), sa veoma visokim sadržajem aktivnog krečnjaka, blagim južnim nagibom od 5 do 7%, suvim zemljištem, bez upotrebe herbicida i uz organsku prihranu. Ovo je mineralno vino, namijenjeno odležavanju, koje modernost izražava kroz harmoniju i ravnotežu.

U 2019. godini – koja je bila izuzetna berba u Rioji – vino je kupaža 67% Tempranillo, 23% Graciano i 10% Mazuela. Na nosu se javljaju note zrelog crvenog voća, plemenitog drveta i minerala. Na nepcu vlada velika harmonija: vino je snažno, sa zaobljenim i svilenkastim taninima koji otkrivaju izvanredan kvalitet parcele po kojoj vino nosi ime.

96 points - James Suckling

Viñedos del Contino was born in 1973, establishing the “château” concept in the Rioja region. Its wines are made exclusively from the vines planted on its 62 hectares. The estate’s vineyards embrace its ancestral home within a meander in the River Ebro, located in Laserna, near the village of Laguardia in the Rioja Alavesa region.

Viña del Olivo aims to be the maximum expression of Contino’s terroir as it is one of the few calcareous clay estates in Contino (the others are primarily alluvial) with a very high content of active limestone, a 5 to 7% south-facing slope, dry land, no herbicides, and organic fertilisation. A mineral wine for ageing that expresses its modernity with harmony and balance.

In 2019 - which was an excellent vintage in Rioja - the wine is a blend of 67% Tempranillo, 23% Graciano and 10% Mazuela.   On the nose there are notes of ripe red fruit, noble woods, and minerals.  There is great harmony, too, on the palate, which is powerful, with round and silky tannins that reveal the extraordinary quality of the plot that gives this wine its name.