Rioja Contino Reserva Viña del Olivo 1996 Viñedos del Contino Alc. 13.5% - (c.50 for current vintages).
Some Spanish experts, e.g. Victor de la Serna, claim that the taste profile of best "modern" style Rioja tends to get closer to that of the finest "traditional" wines as they acquire maturity. For me up to now, the yardstick has been a few 20-40 year old Riojas, particularly Gran Reservas from CVNE's Imperial and Viña Real, which have stood out as as being on a similar level to my finest Bordeaux and Burgundy experiences with a warm and sensuous elegance all their own. Contino has a much more "modern" approach but I have always found that their wines make fine youngish drinking and have great potential, perhaps even more so than those sometimes impressive offerings of Sierra Cantabria, San Vicente and Roda which have come my way. So I am not surprised to find here an example of from their stable which now achieves a similar sensuous harmony to those Imperials and V.Reals at a much younger age with perhaps greater density to boot. Here is the TN.
Colour was quite deep with little bricking. The nose was discreet with quite a lot of vanilla at first but gradually deliciously complex fruit with a lot of sweet cherry and kirsch hints took over leaving the vanilla in the background. The palate was quite full, more so than often with Rioja, and the fruit more dense but this is no way interfered with harmony because the wines was so seamless with velvety and caressing texture, delicious but quite discreet acidity and enough grip and ripe tannic support for the long finish. This was an elegantly rich and lovely pairing for Easter lamb; 18/20.
Some Spanish experts, e.g. Victor de la Serna, claim that the taste profile of best "modern" style Rioja tends to get closer to that of the finest "traditional" wines as they acquire maturity. For me up to now, the yardstick has been a few 20-40 year old Riojas, particularly Gran Reservas from CVNE's Imperial and Viña Real, which have stood out as as being on a similar level to my finest Bordeaux and Burgundy experiences with a warm and sensuous elegance all their own. Contino has a much more "modern" approach but I have always found that their wines make fine youngish drinking and have great potential, perhaps even more so than those sometimes impressive offerings of Sierra Cantabria, San Vicente and Roda which have come my way. So I am not surprised to find here an example of from their stable which now achieves a similar sensuous harmony to those Imperials and V.Reals at a much younger age with perhaps greater density to boot. Here is the TN.
Colour was quite deep with little bricking. The nose was discreet with quite a lot of vanilla at first but gradually deliciously complex fruit with a lot of sweet cherry and kirsch hints took over leaving the vanilla in the background. The palate was quite full, more so than often with Rioja, and the fruit more dense but this is no way interfered with harmony because the wines was so seamless with velvety and caressing texture, delicious but quite discreet acidity and enough grip and ripe tannic support for the long finish. This was an elegantly rich and lovely pairing for Easter lamb; 18/20.