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Imperial Rioja Gran Reserva
2018
Fondée en 1879 par les frères Eusebio et Raimundo Real de Asua, la Compañia Vinicola del Norte de España est un des plus vieux domaines de la Rioja. C.V.N.E. s’est implantée à Haro, dans le quartier traditionnel du commerce du vin, à côté de la gare ferroviaire. En cette période où les transports n'étaient pas très avancés, il y avait un avantage certain à situer sa cave tout près d'une gare! Dès 1900, cette société avait plus de 80 000 bouteilles destinées à un élevage...
Consultez la page de C.V.N.E. pour plus d’information
Créé pour la 1ère fois dans les années 1920. Son nom vient d'une mise en bouteille spéciale pour le marché anglais réalisée dans une bouteille de «Pinta Imperial» ou «Imperial Pint» qui équivaut à un demi-litre.
Millésimes exceptionnels seulement. 24 mois en fûts de chêne français et américain et mis en cave 3 ans.
Couleur rouge cerise profond. Arômes de notes balsamiques, d'épices, des baies et de la réglisse. La bouche est veloutée et dense avec des tanins souples et fins. Accords de la viande rouge et les gibiers.
A very structured and gorgeous Rioja with blackberry, cherry, cedar and spice aromas and flavors. Hints of toasted oak underneath. Granite, too. Medium-bodied, yet the structure builds on the palate, giving superb length and power. Give it three to five years to come together, and beyond.
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This is very ripe with blackberries, dried fruit, toasted oak and black licorice on the nose. Full-bodied with ultra-fine, linear tannins and a racy, refined finish. This has fantastic structure and length. It goes on for minutes. It needs time to open and refine even more. One of the best Imperiale Gran Reservas in a very long time. Drink after 2023.
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Dark cherries, thyme and dried Mediterranean herbs with mushrooms and plums. The palate is medium- to full-bodied, firm and structured yet with a delicate expression of fruit—succulent, juicy and refined, supported by firm tannins. Drink now.
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This is perfumed, with violets, graphite and dried flowers. Elegant and precise, with a tender expression of fruit and finely etched chalky tannins. Juicy and vibrant, yet long and absorbing, with a fresh approachable side balanced by a sense of nerve and tension. Drink or hold.
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This shows dark fruit with notes of tea and underbrush. Medium- to full-bodied, with an elegant, almost ethereal sense of fruit and clear definition. Framed by fine-grained tannins that are firm yet well integrated. Enjoyable now but with a long life ahead. Drink or hold.
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This shows blackberries with some tobacco showing subtle evolution. Medium- to full-bodied, still coming together with a particular brightness in the acidity that complements the dark fruit and discreet earthy notes. Compared with the more structured 2010, this is more approachable yet should evolve nicely, maintaining its elegance. A blend of mostly Tempranillo with graciano and mazuelo. Drink or hold.
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This shows a very pleasant nose of plums and dark fruit with dried flowers. The palate is medium- to full-bodied, structured yet equally charming with a long life ahead. The tannins are marked and will need time to soften. Best from 2030.
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Blackberries and violets, with plenty of fruit yet a crunchy restrained profile. The palate is medium- to full-bodied with red and dark fruit throughout, tending toward firm, chalky, imposing tannins of high quality. There is plenty of flavour with a sense of contained richness and withheld expressivity that will reward patience. Drink or hold.
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Deep, brilliant ruby. Offers sharply defined, mineral-inflected red and dark berries, cherry liqueur, pipe tobacco, vanilla and exotic spice scents. Chewy and penetrating in the mouth, offering concentrated black raspberry, bitter cherry, boysenberry and spicecake flavors that steadily become more lively on the back half. The strikingly persistent finish features polished tannins, repeating minerality and a touch of candied flowers.
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The classical 2016 Imperial Gran Reserva was produced with a blend of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo from grapes that were picked between October 10 and 25 with good ripeness, delivering a wine with 14.5% alcohol after fermenting in small oak vats followed by malolactic in concrete and two years in barrel and three in bottle. I was quite surprised, because the wine was quite closed and needed energetic swirling and time in the glass to reveal its true colors. It has more stuffing and finesse than the reserva. 2016 was a very good vintage, with freshness and balance to develop nicely in bottle. The tannins are very fine, and the wine is tasty and long. 50,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2019.
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This shows plenty of fruit, with tobacco leaf, dark fruit and subtle spices with a vermouth-like nuance. Very elegant, medium- to full-bodied, leaning more toward medium, with precise fruit and powdery fine tannins. Beginning to show some evolution, elegant yet with a firm structure. Drink or hold.
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This shows concentrated nose with tea, a smoky touch and a subtle hint of menthol. The palate is medium- to full-bodied, firm yet balanced with evenly distributed fruit. It continues with succulent dark fruit and youthful tannins, incisive yet precise. Structured and built to age, though it can be enjoyed now with some aeration or cellared for years to come. Drink or hold.
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The wine that represents the traditional and serious reds from Haro, the 2012 Imperial Gran Reserva is a classical blend of Tempranillo with 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo that matured in barrel for two years. It has a textbook serious Haro nose, with dark spices, ripe fruit, something balsamic and a round, full-bodied palate within the straight and serious style of the wine. 2012 was a warm year, but the wines are fresher than those from 2011. This has fine, slightly grainy tannins with good grip. A textbook Imperial Gran Reserva. 50,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2015.
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This shows a concentrated nose of dark fruit with a touch of violets. The palate is balanced, with fresh fruit alongside concentration and depth, framed by a firmer structure and chalky tannins. The fruit is more restrained with more imposing tannins. Drink or hold.
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A fresh, graceful red, with dense, sculpted tannins creating good tension while finding fine integration with a lovely range of ripe black plum and black cherry, cured tobacco, balsamico and minerally iron and tar notes. Firm and racy on the lasting, spiced finish. Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo. Best from 2025 through 2035. 4,166 cases made, 500 cases imported.
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No 2013 was produced, as it was a very challenging year in Haro. So, from the 2012 I tasted last time, we jumped to the 2014 Imperial Gran Reserva, an icon among classical Rioja. The grapes for this blend of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo were picked during the first half of October at a low 13.5% alcohol and were fermented in small oak vats followed by malolactic in concrete and two years in barrel. The bottles are kept for at least 36 months before they are released. As the Imperial Reserva, the style of this wine has to be preserved (they can innovate in the new Asúa range). There is a developed and subtle nose reminiscent of petrol (is it mineral?), hints of iodine and sweet spices. The palate is powerful and still a little tannic, as the wine was released even earlier because they skipped one vintage. Serious, austere, faithful to its character. 50,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2017.
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Shimmering ruby-red. An intensely perfumed nose displays cherry cola, cassis, licorice and smoky oak; floral and vanilla qualities emerge in the glass. Juicy, penetrating red and dark fruit flavors are given spine by a core of tangy acidity, and bitter chocolate, candied rose and spicecake nuances develop with air. Gently gripping tannins add shape to an impressively long, incisive finish that leaves more vanilla and cherry notes behind. Raised for 22 months in a combination of French and American oak barrels.
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A tight and beautiful wine with blackberries, bramble berries, rose petals and lemon grass. Medium to full body, ultra-fine tannins and a beautiful finish. Very fine-grained. Lovely now. Even better in 2020.
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Dark fruit, eucalyptus, tea, thyme and warm stones. The palate is medium- to full-bodied, structured with chalky tannins that are present yet framed by an elegant expression of fruit. Persistent and composed. Drink now.
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This dense, concentrated red maintains a sense of grace and style throughout, with sculpted tannins married to a generous, finely knit range of black currant and plum fruit, showing hints of cedar, Earl Grey tea leaf, smoke and spice that echo on the finish. Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo. Drink now through 2036. 42,000 cases made, 1,000 cases imported.
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This muscular red has a thick, dense texture and muscular tannins. Plum and currant flavors mingle with clove, cola, vanilla and baking spice notes. Comes on strong, but the orange peel acidity gives way to a gentle, floral finish. Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo. Drink now through 2032
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