2015 Contino Rioja Gran Reserva 750 ml

As long as we’ve offered wines from Rioja’s legendary Contino estate, we’ve dreamed of offering their revered Gran Reserva bottling. It’s a natural step up in power, elegance, and complexity from the stellar Reservas that have dazzled our members, but the bottle’s extreme rarity always kept the stars from aligning. Until now.

Our first ever Gran Reserva from Contino has finally arrived, and after swirling this stunning 2015 in our glasses, we can confirm it was more than worth the wait. This is a bottle that deserves to be savored by knowledgeable collectors, and we’ve earmarked every bottle for members of our Connoisseurs Club.

Modeled after the classified châteaux of Bordeaux, Contino was Rioja’s first single-estate winery, and their iconic Gran Reserva is the ultimate expression of that First Growth ambition. Hand-harvested from a selection of the property’s top holdings in the heart of the Ebro Valley, this blockbuster Tempranillo blend is aged in Contino’s sixteenth-century cellars for an astonishing six years before release—a full twelve months longer than the region’s minimum requirements. 

With the kind of structure that compels Bordeaux-lovers to spend top dollar, this captivating Rioja Gran Reserva combines the fine-grained tannins of a Lafite or Latour with the ripeness, black-fruit bouquet, and aristocratic opulence of Spain’s marquee wine region. Critic James Suckling nailed it when he called it the 2015 “one for the cellar,” pinning on 97 points.

Contino only produces this Gran Reserva in exceptional vintages. Who knows when the next 2015 will come around? For now, we’re just thrilled we jumped at the chance to share this dazzling museum piece with you. We know you’ll love it.