Imperial Gran Reserva 2018
‘Very complete, fresh and vibrant’ 95+ points, The Wine Advocate
We’re delighted to announce we’ve secured an allocation of the 95+-point Imperial Gran Reserva 2018 Rioja from C.V.N.E. Imperial is only produced in vintages that C.V.N.E. consider to be excellent, and even in those years production levels are tiny. 2018 saw an unusually long, cool growing season, giving a wine of exceptional elegance, complexity and depth. As The Wine Advocate’s Luis Gutierrez noted it feels very complete, fresh and vibrant, and while it is already drinking well, it will age and develop over many years.
Leading critics have rated the Imperial Gran Reserva 2018 extremely highly, with The Wine Advocate awarding it 95+ and James Suckling 96. You can read some of their notes below, but if you’d like to buy some of this incredible wine you can do so by clicking here or by contacting MWH Wine.
Imperial Gran Reserva 2018 Rioja: The Critics’ Scores
“The 2018 Imperial Gran Reserva was cropped from a year with the weather from yesteryear, a cold winter with frost, snow and abundant rain, a cool spring and mild summer that resulted in a long vegetative cycle of 180 days and a late harvest between October 8th and 26th. It has similar parameters to the 2017 I tasted next to it, with 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.55 and 6.03 grams of acidity, but it shows fresher. It feels very complete, fresh and vibrant, with more depth and tannin. It’s still quite young and should develop nicely in
bottle with that extra kick from the cooler year. It was a smaller crop, and they produced 56,000 bottles. It was bottled in July 2021.” 95+, Luis Gutierrez, The Wine Advocate
“Fresh blackberries, plums, smoked spices, graphite and cocoa powder. So juicy and firm, with fresh, abundant tannins coming from the fruit and spicy oak, but all woven in a fine-grained form, which clearly shows ageing potential. Medium-to-full-bodied with a very long finish. Try after 2026.” 96, Zekun Shuai, James Suckling.com
“Inky purple, with a beautiful sheen, the Imperial Gran Reserva 2018’s bouquet is suffused with blackberries, cherries, orange zest, charred oak and red berries. Initially quite high-toned on the palate, it quickly broadens out, revealing blackberries, cherries, spicy vanilla, alpine strawberries and cranberries. Medium-bodied, but with a powerful structure and tannic backbone, it needs several hours in a closed decanter but is already showing well. Drink now and well into the 2030s.’ MWH Wine
