Contino Garnacha
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2038
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted lamb chops with rosemary, pan-seared duck breast, or traditional Spanish tapas such as grilled chorizo and cured Manchego cheese.
✨ Technical Specifications
Viedos del Contino, established in 1973 as Rioja's first single-estate winery, sits in a historic loop of the Ebro River in Rioja Alavesa. While Rioja is historically famous for Tempranillo, Contino's Garnacha is a masterful tribute to a grape that once dominated the region. Sourced from old vines planted on the alluvial, stony soils of the San Gregorio plot—named after the patron saint of the estate whose ancient hermitage still overlooks the vines—this wine is crafted to highlight the elegant, floral, and vibrant side of the varietal. Fermented in oak vats and aged in seasoned French oak barrels, it avoids the heavy, over-extracted style of some warm-climate Garnachas, offering instead a refined expression of wild red berries, white pepper, and mineral depth that reflects the unique microclimate of the Laserna estate.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1879 in Haro's iconic Barrio de la Estación by brothers Eusebio and Raimundo Real de Asúa, Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España (CVNE) stands as an architectural and viticultural pillar of DOCa Rioja. Still stewarded by fifth-generation descendants under CEO Víctor Urrutia, the historic house commands premier vineyard parcels across Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa, rooted primarily in calcareous clay and alluvial gravel under an Atlantic-moderated continental climate. CVNE has historically driven technical modernizations, incorporating gravity-flow winemaking, Eiffel-engineered cellars, and early concrete fermentation vats alongside classical oak maturation. Viticulture emphasizes environmental stewardship, evidenced by active membership in International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA). The house crafts legendary expressions, from the flagship Imperial Gran Reserva and the singular Real de Asúa to pioneering whites such as Viña Real Blanco, Monopole Clásico, and the scarce Corona Gran Reserva, reflecting balance, age-worthiness, and traditional Spanish winemaking precision.
🍇 Grapes
Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo