| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | Spain > Rioja |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
The 2019 Imperial Reserva was cropped from a very healthy year with good ripeness and balance, a powerful vintage with a 185-day vegetative cycle. They look for finesse, precision and power, a blend of Tempranillo and 15% Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnacha put through optical sorting and fermented in oak vats with yeasts selected from the Imperial vineyards and a 20-day maceration, then it matured in barrels, 70% French and the rest American, for 24 months. It has 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.61. It feels very classical, with finesse and power, balanced and serious. It has tannins that call for food. 150,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2022. Drink Date: 2024 - 2031
Shiny ruby in colour with a glossy, full nose expressive in notes of coffee, caramelised red fruits and rich black forest gateau, this shows the excellent growing season and the elevage of French and American oak in equal measure. The palate continues with the same generous, spicy profile and satiny, ripe, redolent fruit core. Vanilla, cinnamon and clove mingle with steeped cherry and plums and a touch of toasted coconut on a seamless, succulent finish. You can open this now, but as it ages in bottle we expect the wood and fruit to integrate and create a layered, complex wine over the coming decade or more.
A precise, layered nose that shows excellent purity despite some sweet oak spices. More berry fruit comes out as you give it some time in the glass. Plums, cherries, red berries with dark mushrooms, cured meat, grilled spices, stones, vanilla and iodine. Juicy, spiced berries quickly tighten up on the medium- to full-bodied palate with dusty, powerful tannins, allowing it to expand into the finish. It grows on the palate and the creaminess is already chiselled. This will age beautifully in the next 10-15 years. Drinkable now, but better from 2026.
