The Best Rioja in the World - Just crowned & We've small amounts now!
Every June, The Best 50 Wines in the world are announced, at the Decanter World Wine awards. They are the international awards for winemakers and their wines. Over 16,500 wines were entered this year and the first winners announced, are the top 50 scoring wines from all 280 judges across the whole category. It is an immense achievement to win, and the wines from the vintages that win, gain instant notoriety and cult status. They are also extremely hard to get.
In June, Decanter released the top 50 wines from this year’s awards, which represented less than a Third of a percent of the wines that were tasted. Coto de Imaz Gran Reserva Rioja 2012 was named as a Best in Show wine after it received a near perfect score of 97 points standing out among the top wines in the world, and the only Rioja wine to win the award. What is superb, was that there were 8 wines from Spain amongst the top 50 wines, showcasing the overall quality of Spanish wine. But there was only one wine from Rioja, and while it is not cheap at €30 per bottle, there were many wines over twice its price from Rioja among the 16,500 wines entered.
Also worth noting, is that the very same wine, when released last year, immediately won a Silver medal at the two international awards worth talking about, Decanter and the International Wine Challenge. This year the near perfect score and unanimous verdict of all the judges made it a platinum winning Best in show. The jury, is composed of over 280 experts from around the world, including 70 Masters of Wine, does a blind tasting of each wine. Wines that earn a score of at least 97 points are tasted again to determine a single winner for each category. Suffice to say, it has improved with age.
We originally sourced just 120 bottles of the 2012 vintage When that sold out, we managed another 20, which also sold out fast. We are on the last batch of stock of this vintage we will receive, and it is available right now while stocks las. . You can also order it now online here.
El Coto Coto de Imaz
Gran Reserva, 2012
Best in Show, Decanter Wine Awards
The Vintage: The 2012 vintage was marked by drought, which had an effect on both grape volume and grape quality in some places, but also resulted in a significant quantity of very high quality wine. Rains in late September had a positive effect on ripening and harvested grapes were well balanced and healthy. The Rioja Control Board rated the 2012 vintage ‘Very Good’.
The Wine: Aged in American and French oak barrels for a minimum 24 months, followed by a minimum 36 months refining in the bottle. Its wealth aromatic is changing and subtle, undressing as wine breath. The aromas of red fruits and nuts happen together with toast and coconut, as well as tertiary aromas of leather and damp earth. The finish is complex and persistent with round and silky tannins. Made with tempranillo grapes from the winery’s own vineyards, located in Cenicero for over half a century. It is barrel aged for over two years then rests in the bottle for three further years, seeking to capture the traditional essence of a Rioja Great. This one is drinking well now, but will cellar comfortably for another 8 years, improving for almost all of that time.
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