2007 Contino Graciano

The 2007 Graciano follows the tradition of the very first varietal Graciano ever bottled, the 1994 Contino Graciano, of which a grand total of 1,000 bottles were filled. However 2007’s weather was not as gentle as that of 1994, and in 2007 the Graciano was harvested late for the variety (end of September), fermented in a 100-hectoliter French oak vat, transferred for malolactic to new barriques and then aged in new barrels, 90% French oak and 10% Hungarian oak, for 15 months, and one year in bottle. It was a very cold year and the wine is even more Atlantic than the norm, with an austere profile, citric acidity, and notes of aromatic herbs and spices. This is a light vintage for Contino Graciano. 3,846 bottles were produced in 2007. Drink 2014-2020. Contino is not a brand name from CVNE, it’s a completely separate winery and vineyard in Laserna in the municipality of Laguardia in Rioja Alvesa created as a joint-venture with the owners of a superb vineyard, house and old caves in a meander of the Ebro river in 1973. It is considered the first chateau style winery in Rioja. All their wines are produced with their own grapes sourced from the 63 hectares of vineyards within their San Rafael estate. The style is terroir-driven, classical-modern. In 2013 they suffered a terrible hail storm on September 6, so we’ll see little Contino from the 2013 vintage. They just started experimenting with white in 2006 and they have only sold a couple of vintages. The Vina del Olivo was not ready with the new vintage (2010) so I quickly tasted the 2009, which showed extremely fresh and Atlantic for a powerful vintage, a highly drinkable wine which is already reviewed and available on the database. Imported by Europvin USA, Van Nuys, CA; www.europvin.com