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  • Country ranking ?

    18
  • Producer ranking ?

    1
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    now-2040
  • Food Pairing

    cured cheeses

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The Story

Imperial is one of the renowned references in the entire history of Spanish winemaking. It is a true classic in Rioja and was first bottled in the 1920’s. Its name was originally adopted after a special bottling for the English market in a bottle called ‘Pinta Imperial’ or ‘Imperial Pint’ (an Imperial pint, half a litre approximately). 

Vineyard

The grapes to make Imperial have always come from our own 28 hectares of vineyards in Villalb...

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Wine Information

The 2018 harvest took us back to weather conditions of years ago, with a winter of heavy frosts, snow and abundant rainfall. The spring was also cold and rainy and then came the summer, warm but without excessive temperatures, which allowed for good ripening. These weather conditions, generalised in Rioja Alta, were also met particularly in our Imperial vineyards, allowing the production of wines with a slightly lower alcohol content than usua...

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Vintage 2018

SPAIN VINTAGE REPORT 2018

 Wines from Spain has released its 2018 vintage report detailing the performance of each region, with most reporting a return to average yields following a challenging 2017 harvest, which saw widespread drought and heatwaves impact production.

“After several dry, hot vintages this year the rain came to Spain and in some regions the rainy spell lasted until early summer,” the report said. ” It was also a much coo...

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Information

Origin

Haro, Rioja

Other wines from this producer

Clarete

Contino Gran Reserva

Contino Rioja Blanco

Contino Rioja Garnacha

Corona Gran Reserva

Corona Reserva

Crianza

Cune Gran Reserva

Cune Reserva

Imperial Reserva

Medianas

Monopole

Real de Asúa

Viña Real Crianza

Vina Real Gran Reserva

Inside Information

The harvest is made manually of selected vineyards, with a double selection of grapes both in the vineyard as in the winery. Cold refrigeration of whole bunches in order to improve fruit extraction and color stability. The crushed grapes were transported by gravity to small oak vats for maceration with cold temperature for a few hours. Followed by fermentation with indigenous yeasts at controlled temperature between 28 and 29ºC. Punching and delestage are carried out daily during fermentation, as well as tastings to determine the perfect moment for draining the vat. After completing the malolactic fermentation in concrete vats, the wine is aged for two years in French and American oak barrels, new and from one wine, with rackings every 8 months, followed by aging in bottle in our century-old cellars until the wine is released to the market.

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