Contino Rosado
⏳ Drinking Window
2021 - 2024
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Grilled seafood and shellfish, traditional rabbit or seafood paella, and dry-cured Spanish charcuterie.
✨ Technical Specifications
Viñedos del Contino, founded in 1973 by CVNE, is celebrated as Rioja's first single-estate winery, reviving the classic French château concept in the heart of Rioja Alavesa. Located in a fertile bend of the Ebro River near Laserna, the estate's vines benefit from alluvial soils and a protective microclimate. Contino Rosado is a highly sophisticated, gastronomic rosé that breaks the mold of simple summer wines. It is typically crafted from a refined blend of Garnacha and Graciano, sometimes with a small percentage of white Viura. Fermented and aged in fine French oak barrels, this wine develops a complex profile of wild red berries, floral notes, and delicate baking spices, backed by a creamy texture and vibrant acidity. The estate's name pays homage to the 'Continos,' the dedicated royal guards who protected the Spanish monarchs since the times of the Catholic Monarchs.
🍾 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