COTO DE IMAZ | Rioja | Reserva | 2011
tempranillo
WineStatistics will be evaluating wines in no particular order on no particular schedule. Just stay tuned and you will never miss one. If the wine is tasted more than once, the rating table will be updated so as to reflect all the new impressions and observations. The logic is simple – the more we taste, the more we learn.
The wine we are going to review today is one that we patiently kept in the queue for quite some time, as this is a genuine tempranillo wine made in the famous Rioja region of Spain. Tempranillo is a grape variety famous for its mesmerising flavor profile and bold tannins. For a long time tempranillo was ignored by the outside world as a slightly rustic grape variety of strictly local appeal, as its flavour profile is essentially savoury rather than sweet. But nowadays, tempranillo is increasingly recognised as an important grape variety that can result in firm, bold and age-worthy wines, which is exactly the case for the wine we’ve selected for the review today – Coto de Imaz Rioja Reserva 2011 from El Coto de Rioja.
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Take a look at the tasting notes bellow and our detailed assessment of the wine:
Visual
Deep ruby color, with shades of overripe sour cherry towards the rim.
Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with ripe red fruit: ripe red cherry, overripe sour cherry, red currant, ripe red plum, cranberry, black cherry, black raspberry, blackberry and some nuanced hints of cloves. An instant later comes secondary and tertiary notes of red pepper, nutmeg, tobacco, roasted oakwood and some subtle hints of cinnamon.
Gustatory
The wine is dry, with moderate alcohol level, high acidity and smooth tannin. It feels lean, light and fruity, with a nuanced new world profile. This is a friendly, dense and a bit opulent wine, with a very nicely integrated acidity and tannin. The wine has a fair overall balance between barrique and fruit, resulting in a quite appealing and well structured body.
Aftertaste
The wine has a medium-plus finish and a balanced, a bit tart aftertaste.
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This is definitely a great Wine of Spain and the overall rating says the same, with 90.4 points scored it is right there, among the best wines we’ve tasted so far. Please click on the chart icon on the left in order to get to the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines we’ve tasted to date.
Conclusion: in our opinion this wine is just a bit over its top form, definitely ready to drink now, so no more bottle ageing is recommended. This wine is a blueprint of a classic Rioja Reserva wine – fruity, complex and very well balanced. What we do like about this wine the most are those amazingly appealing ripe sour cherry notes, which makes it the perfect wine to be paired with rare or medium-rare meat dishes, like for example some filet mignon or a sirloin steak, as the acidity and the tannin in the wine will cut well through the rustic and meaty notes, adding into the mix those sweet cherry notes, that fusion so nicely with the umami flavours in the dish.
WineStatistics tasting results:
EL COTO DE RIOJA
Coto De Imaz | Rioja | Reserva | 2011
grape: | tempranillo |
overall rating: | 90.4 |
conclusion: great | a must try
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(c) The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. There are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.
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WineStatistics is a non-profit community. We produce independent and highly detailed wine reviews.
By training ourselves to stop, take a breath, and pay attention to the subtle elements that distinguish one wine from any other, we learn an important lesson about life – that it’s worth taking the time to slow down and appreciate things that pleases us, from a glass of wine to a great work of art. It’s a simple way to learn to appreciate the little things in life that may in some small way enhance our enjoyment of every day.
In order to continue our work we need support from people like you. People who appreciate our contribution in spreading wine knowledge and raising wine awareness across the borders.
You may now support us by contributing with a one-time donation so that we can review even more wines.
WineStatistics is a non-profit community. We produce independent and highly detailed wine reviews.
By training ourselves to stop, take a breath, and pay attention to the subtle elements that distinguish one wine from any other, we learn an important lesson about life – that it’s worth taking the time to slow down and appreciate things that pleases us, from a glass of wine to a great work of art. It’s a simple way to learn to appreciate the little things in life that may in some small way enhance our enjoyment of every day.
In order to continue our work we need support from people like you. People who appreciate our contribution in spreading wine knowledge and raising wine awareness across the borders.
You may now support us by contributing with a monthly donation so that we can review even more wines.
WineStatistics is a non-profit community. We produce independent and highly detailed wine reviews.
By training ourselves to stop, take a breath, and pay attention to the subtle elements that distinguish one wine from any other, we learn an important lesson about life – that it’s worth taking the time to slow down and appreciate things that pleases us, from a glass of wine to a great work of art. It’s a simple way to learn to appreciate the little things in life that may in some small way enhance our enjoyment of every day.
In order to continue our work we need support from people like you. People who appreciate our contribution in spreading wine knowledge and raising wine awareness across the borders.
You may now support us by contributing with a yearly donation so that we can review even more wines.
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