Contino Blanco 2018

  • 94 James
    Suckling
  • 93 Jeb
    Dunnuck
  • 92 Robert
    Parker
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Contino Blanco 2018  Front Bottle Shot
Contino Blanco 2018  Front Bottle Shot Contino Blanco 2018  Front Label

Product Details


Varietal

Region

Producer

Vintage
2018

Size
750ML

ABV
12.6%

Features
Collectible

Boutique

Your Rating

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Somm Note

Winemaker Notes

With Contino Blanco, Contino wants to return to the traditional Rioja whites with ageing potential, balance and freshness. A wine that is not overly woody with a predominantly floral and fruity aroma, in addition to structure and character provided by the barrel tannins and fat from the concrete egg tank.

Blend: 90% Viura, 10% Garnacha Blanca

Professional Ratings

  • 94
    Mineral and subtly nutty nose of dried apples, lemon rind, apricot stones, cloves and smoked almonds. Medium-to full-bodied with bright acidity and a waxy texture. Lots of tension, with delicious almond and creamy nougat character.
  • 93
    Based largely on Viura, the 2018 Blanco reminds me of a Northern Rhône white with its reserved nose of crushed citrus, melon, celery seed, and crushed stone-like minerality. With medium-bodied richness, well-integrated acidity, and a great finish, it's going to shine on the dinner table.
  • 92
    The white 2018 Blanco wants to go to the traditional style of Rioja, with aging potential and balance. It's 90% Viura and 10% Garnacha Blanca with 12.62% alcohol and a pH of 3.2, so quite fresh and with moderate alcohol reflecting the cooler vintage. It fermented in stainless steel and two concrete eggs and matured in 400- and 500-liter barriques but with 30% of the volume kept unoaked in concrete. Making a white has always been a challenge at Contino because the place is warm, and I think this 2018 is the finest white produced at the property since they started with something almost experimental in 2004. There are white grapes spread throughout the property, and for this wine, they used mostly grapes from a plot that has some of the oldest vines. 2018 is a cooler year, and the wine has a lot less oak than in previous vintages. Also, to keep some extra freshness, it didn't go through malolactic. It has a nose of aromatic herbs and waxy apples, following the 2017 that was the first wine produced by the new technical team. The palate is fresh and shows some austerity, more elegant than powerful, and it's quite long.

Other Vintages

2020
  • 93 Robert
    Parker
  • 93 James
    Suckling
Contino

Contino

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Contino, Spain
Contino Winery Video

Contino, the first Rioja château 1973, impelled by CVNE and the owners of the 62-hectare property located in the Rioja Alavesa. The history of the property dates from the 16th century, and is reflected in its name. The “contino” was the officer in charge of a guard corps of a hundred soldiers who protected the royal family "de contino” (continuously) from the times of the Catholic Monarchs onwards. According to the tradition, Saint Gregory, the patron saint of vineyards, passed through the lands of this same Rioja property, giving rise to the use of his figure in the logo of this winery, and to the use of his name for some of the plots now planted with vines. The wine produced on this property, fruity and elegant, is heir to the best Rioja tradition. It is made with an individualised grape harvesting system in which only grapes from the same vineyards that surround the old manor house are used. Their origin in the various plots is noted. The perfect combination of soils, Atlantic-Mediterranean climate and refined technique have made Contino, more than 30 years after the first vintage, a reference product both in and outside Spain. The 62 hectares of Laserna vineyards in Laguardia are protected by the hill called the Cerro de la Mesa, which gives this land a characteristic orientation and mesoclimate. The hand-cut grapes are transported along a short road to the outbuildings so as to avoid damaging their qualities.

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Commonly found as a single varietal white or blended with Malavasia and Grenache Blanc, Viura is a vital, leading white grape of Rioja. It also thrives in the lower elevations of the Penedes, where it takes the name Macabeo and adds aromatic and fruity notes to the traditional Cava blend with Parellada and Xarel-lo. Somm Secret—Called Macabeu in France, this versatile grape is prevalent in Roussillon where it makes still, sparkling, dry and sweet wines.

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Highly regarded for distinctive and age-worthy red wines, Rioja is Spain’s most celebrated wine region. Made up of three different sub-regions of varying elevation: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental. Wines are typically a blend of fruit from all three, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta, at the highest elevation, is considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier Rioja Oriental produce wines with deep color and higher alcohol, which can add great body and richness to a blend.

Fresh and fruity Rioja wines labeled, Joven, (meaning young) see minimal aging before release, but more serious Rioja wines undergo multiple years in oak. Crianza and Reserva styles are aged for one year in oak, and Gran Reserva at least two, but in practice this maturation period is often quite a bit longer—up to about fifteen years.

Tempranillo provides the backbone of Rioja red wines, adding complex notes of red and black fruit, leather, toast and tobacco, while Garnacha supplies body. In smaller percentages, Graciano and Mazuelo (Carignan) often serve as “seasoning” with additional flavors and aromas. These same varieties are responsible for flavorful dry rosés.

White wines, typically balancing freshness with complexity, are made mostly from crisp, fresh Viura. Some whites are blends of Viura with aromatic Malvasia, and then barrel fermented and aged to make a more ample, richer style of white.

FBR133810_2018 Item# 1153796

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