Contino Reserva

Contino Reserva is a red wine from D.O. La Rioja produced by the winery Contino, which is owned by Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España. It is a coupage of the varieties Tempranillo (85%), Graciano (10%), Mazuelo (3%) and Red Grenache (2%).
The grapes used to make Contino Reserva come from vineyards of the farm Finca San Rafael, located in the municipality of Laguardia, in La Rioja Alavesa.
The soils are comprised of sandy loam and clay, with an abundant presence of stones. The climate of the area stands out for being dry and hot in summer and cold in winter.
The harvest of the grapes for Reserve Contino is done manually, and small boxes are used to transport the bunches to the winery. This way they prevent the grapes form breaking prematurely and loosing their qualities. At the winery, the grapes are selected on a selection conveyor. Then, they are fermented in 12,000-litre stainless steel deposits at a controlled temperature of 28º to 30ºC.
After the fermentation, they go through maceration for 15 to 20 days.
Lastly, Contino Reserva rests in French oak barrels -60%- and American oak barrels -40%- for 24 months. Ageing is completed with a refinement of twelve more months in the bottle.