Coto de Imaz Reserva

Coto de Imaz is El Coto de Rioja's line of long-aged wines: a red Reserva and Gran Reserva, a Reserva Selección Viñedos and a white Reserva. The house ties the name to an older story: in the sixteenth century, it says, the monks of Irache grew vines and made wine inside a fortified enclosure.

Liberty Wines, the house's UK importer, says the Coto de Imaz wines come from a selection of Tempranillo grown in El Coto's own vineyards around Cenicero, in Rioja Alta. The importer describes the soil there as limestone-rich clay, giving grapes of great intensity and good acidity, which then go through long ageing in oak.

In the cellar El Coto ferments the wine in stainless steel. The skins stay with the juice for up to 18 days, with frequent pumping over, aiming, the house says, at a balance between fruit and extract. What makes it a Reserva is time: at least 18 months in 225-litre barrels of American oak, then at least another 18 months in bottle. That makes at least three years between barrel and bottle before release.

The Rioja Consejo Regulador called the 2019 harvest more moderate than usual, at 385 million kilos of grapes, and reported excellent health and quality in the fruit. It expected the vintage to be a milestone in quality. This Reserva is that harvest, held at least three years before release.