2018 CVNE Imperial Gran Reserva Rioja
Grape
85% Tempranillo, 10/% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo
Its Origins
Imperial is one of Spain's iconic wine. A quintessential Rioja. The Imperial winery is a small and unique independent artisanal winery within the original CVNE facility in Haro, where the company was founded. This has been one of Spain’s finest wines since 1920 and is only produced in years of exceptional harvests in Rioja: It takes its name from a special bottling run for the English market in a bottle known as the Imperial Pint (an imperial pint is approximately half a litre). Imperial Gran Riserva the winery’s flagship, was ranked the world’s best wine in 2013 by the prestigious American magazine Wine Spectator, becoming the first Spanish wine to receive this accolade. The winery contains French oak vats of different capacities, and rigorous quality controls govern wine production. The wines are monitored using artisanal techniques adapted specifically for each plot. Barrels are aged inside their Eiffel facility, built by the famous architect’s studio in 1909 after he had finished the tower in Paris. Imperial wines are only produced in years with outstanding harvests. They perfectly capture the essence of its soil and impeccable care of our Rioja Alta vineyards. Imperial has its own style: fine, precise and powerful. As well as Imperial, this winery also produces Real de Asúa wine, a homage to the winery’s founders.
What The Critics Say
96/100 JamesSuckling.com, Zekun Shuai
"Fresh blackberries, plums, smoked spices, graphite and cocoa powder. So juicy and firm, with fresh, abundant tannins coming from the fruit and spicy oak, but all woven in a fine-grained form, which clearly shows aging potential. Medium- to full-bodied with a very long finish. Try after 2026."
95+/100 Parker's Wine Advocate, Luis Guttierez
"The 2018 Imperial Gran Reserva was cropped from a year with the weather from yesteryear, a cold winter with frost, snow and abundant rain, a cool spring and mild summer that resulted in a long vegetative cycle of 180 days and a late harvest between October 8th and 26th. It has similar parameters to the 2017 I tasted next to it, with 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.55 and 6.03 grams of acidity, but it shows fresher. It feels very complete, fresh and vibrant, with more depth and tannin. It's still quite young and should develop nicely in bottle with that extra kick from the cooler year. It was a smaller crop, and they produced 56,000 bottles. It was bottled in July 2021." Drink 2025 - 2038
95/100 Decanter, Ines Salpico
"Mouthwatering freshness supported by a firm acid verve and chalky tannins hold the core of prune, blackberry and black cherry with strrenth and ease. Powdery graphite, dark chocolate shavings, liquorice root, mocha and chcocolate mousse build layers of broody complexity. CVNE's best vineyards in Rioja Alta provide the fruit for Imperial Gran Reserva – 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo in 2018, from Villalba and Torremontalbo. Fermentation with native yeasts was followed by malolactic in concrete vats, then the wine was aged for two years in 80% French and 20% American oak barrels, new and second-use, with racking every eight months, and further ageing in bottle before release. A wine that, still teasingly coiled, has a long time ahead of it." Drink 2025-2040
| Variety | Tempranillo |
|---|---|
| Region | Rioja |
| Closure | Cork |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Maturity | 2025 - 2038 |
This Wine Goes Well With
Taste
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If for any reason you are not entirely happy with your order or you suspect that they may be affected by a quality issue, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will remedy the problem straight away. Contact us on 0800 422 767.
