El Coto Coto de Imaz Gran Reserva 2012
- Decanter
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
#9 Wine Enthusiast Top 100 of 2020
Brilliant ruby color, with russet tones. Mature and elegant, its aromatic richness is changing and subtle, becoming more apparent as the wine breathes. Notes of toast and coconut followed by tertiary aromas (leather, wet earth), and red fruit and dried fruit. Round, silky tannins, persistent and complex aftertaste.
Ideal accompaniment for roast suckling lamb, game, or red meat.
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
This dark, relatively tight-knit Rioja proves that the Gran Reserva category doesn't just indicate the supremely well-aged, relaxed and reposeful style of Rioja, but can also serve to draw drinkers' attention to outstanding wines of density and tenacity which still have a way to run along their potential ageing trajectories. Look out for dark, urgent fruits here sweetened and back-lit by cunningly angled oak, with intense, deep, fresh and searching flavours in which the 10% of Graciano seems to be working overtime. A Rioja of innate drama.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Classic Rioja aromas of graphite, cherry, plum and oak are lightly toasted and spicy. On the palate, this offers chewy depth and impeccable balance. Ripe, heady plum, cassis and berry flavors are also nuanced and elegant, while this gran reserva from a ripe vintage tastes of vanilla and mild oak on the finish. For an affordable high-quality gem, look no further. Drink through 2028.
Editors' Choice -
Wine Spectator
This polished red is focused and harmonious. Black cherry, tea, licorice, dried orange and spice notes mingle over firm, well-integrated tannins, while orange peel acidity keeps this lively. Expressive, in the traditional style. Drink now through 2024.
-
James Suckling
Lots of vanilla, chocolate-coated blackberries, cedar, tobacco and glazed dark cherries. Medium to full body, succulent tannins and a fruit-driven but tangy finish. Drink in 2021.
Other Vintages
2016- Decanter
-
Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Wine
Spectator -
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine &
Spirits -
Robert
Parker
Located in Oyón, one of the historic cities of the D.O.Ca. La Rioja, El Coto de Rioja was founded in 1970. During these almost 50 years of history, El Coto has strived to create of one of the most recognized wine brands in Spain and around the world. El Coto is the largest owner of vineyards in the D.O.Ca. Rioja, with four distinct estates (and eight individual properties) sprawling throughout the three sub regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja and Rioja Alavesa. The D.O.Ca., or Denominacion de Origen Calificada, is the regulatory classification system that governs quality within the three sub regions of Rioja. As the largest winegrowers in the Denomination of Origin Rioja, with 730 hectares of owned vineyards, El Coto is committed to quality and consistency in winemaking, producing wines from the different sub regions, while focusing on Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa.
El Coto not only takes care of what goes in the bottle, but how it’s handled before and after it gets there. Typical aging rules for Rioja D.O.Ca. dictates that a Crianza must be oak aged for 12 month. El Coto takes it a step further with 12+ months in oak, and an additional six months in bottle before release. This helps ensure the best possible product travels from the winery to your table. The winery has also dedicated resources to the production of white wine, in 2017 building a wine making facility at their Finca Carbonera vineyard for immediate processing of the Viura grapes in the vineyard. At the high end, their extensive cellars of Reserva and Gran Reserva wines are complemented by the single-vineyard Coto Real project that brings a modern interpretation to high-quality wines.
The basis of the labels is an engraving made by the artisan Ricardo Barriobeña that reproduces iconic monuments that are part of the facilities, like the deer that receives visitors at the entrance to the winery or the Monastery of Imaz. The Imaz monastery, owned by the company, is the main theme of the engraving on the label. Similarly to the monks that already cultivated the vineyards in this area in the XVI century, the use of our own vineyards is the basis of Coto de Imaz wines. Each one of the El Coto de Rioja wines reflects a portion of the original engraving. The exception is Coto Real, our most exclusive wine, whose label is a complete reproduction of the original work.
The wines of El Coto de Rioja are expressive, aromatic and perfect for any occasion. El Coto de Rioja, producer of the number one crianza in Spain, is dedicated to crafting the highest quality wines that reflect the rich winemaking traditions of Rioja.
Hailed as the star red variety in Spain’s most celebrated wine region, Tempranillo from Rioja, or simply labeled, “Rioja,” produces elegant wines with complex notes of red and black fruit, crushed rock, leather, toast and tobacco, whose best examples are fully capable of decades of improvement in the cellar.
Rioja wines are typically a blend of fruit from its three sub-regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta and Alavesa, at the highest elevations, are considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier, Rioja Oriental, produce wines with deep color, great body and richness.