Unanimous Acclaim for CVNE's Flagship Imperial Riojas 

2018 CVNE "Imperial" Reserva Rioja ($44.99)

95 points Tim Atkin, MW: "The coolness of the Atlantic vintage in 2018 seemed to suit the more restrained, structured, age-worthy style of Imperial. Marrying fruit from Briones, Torremontalbo and Villalba, with ageing in a 70/30 mix of French and American oak, this is an inky, youthful, structured cuvée of Tempranillo with 15% Graciano and Mazuelo. Intense, layered and beautifully balanced." (02/2023)

94 points Wine Enthusiast: "This deeply hued wine offers a bouquet of dark plum, black currant and aniseed. It is spicy at first sip, with flavors of clove, anisette, blackberry and cassis. Polished tannins make their presence known and then drift off into a cherry and violet finish. (MD)" (03/2023)

94 points Wine Advocate: "The red 2018 Imperial Reserva keeps the brand profile of finesse, precision and power, produced with grapes that were picked between October 8th and 26th in a year like in the pastcold, rain and snow followed by a warm summer. It's a blend of Tempranillo and 15% Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnacha that were put through optical sorting and fermented in oak vats with a 20-day maceration. It matured in barrel for 24 months. It's 14% alcohol and has a pH of 3.57. It's a textbook Reserva from Haro, fine-tuning the grapes they use here trying to control the power of this cuvée, which has to be powerful but keeping the freshness. This is quite young and lively, quite impressive, really very good, getting close to the complexity of a Gran Reserva but with the extra oomph of its youth. (LG)" (07/2022)

2015 CVNE "Imperial" Gran Reserva Rioja ($79.99)

97 points James Suckling: "This is very ripe with blackberries, dried fruit, toasted oak and black licorice on the nose. Full-bodied with ultra-fine, linear tannins and a racy, refined finish. This has fantastic structure and length. It goes on for minutes. It needs time to open and refine even more. One of the best Imperial Gran Reservas in a very long time." (09/2021)

95 points Vinous: "Deep, brilliant ruby. Offers sharply defined, mineral-inflected red and dark berries, cherry liqueur, pipe tobacco, vanilla and exotic spice scents. Chewy and penetrating in the mouth, offering concentrated black raspberry, bitter cherry, boysenberry and spicecake flavors that steadily become more lively on the back half. The strikingly persistent finish features polished tannins, repeating minerality and a touch of candied flowers. (JR)" (04/2021)

95 points John Gilman: "2015 is a riper, warmer year in Rioja, but the vintage has also produced some absolutely classic wines and the Imperial Gran Reserva is certainly one of them. I tasted this wine a couple of years ago when it was still very much an infant, but it has settled in nicely in the interim and is marching nicely towards its point of maturity. I would still certainly hang onto it for several more years in the cellar, as there is just too much complexity still buried here behind the wines structural elements and it truly deserves more bottle aging, though it is already a very impressive glass of wine. The wine comes in at an even fourteen percent octane and delivers a pure and complex bouquet of black cherries, sweet dark berries, fresh nutmeg, woodsmoke, complex soil tones, cigar wrapper and a nice mix of both toasted coconut and cedar from its mix of American and French oak barrels. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very elegant in profile, with nascent velvetiness on the attack, lovely sappiness at the core, fine transparency and grip, fine-grained tannins and a long, complex and impeccably balanced finish. Great juice, but give it just a few more years in the cellar to reach cruising altitude." (05/2023)

2016 CVNE "Imperial" Gran Reserva Rioja ($79.99)

98 points James Suckling: "Polished and structured with firm, very fine tannins. Lots going on here, with layers of black fruit, dried spices, graphite, coconut and cracked pepper. Full-bodied and so intense. Keeps going. Long. The tannins are so fine and so numerous. One of the greatest modern gran reservas. 85% tempranillo, 10% graciano and 5% mazuelo." (08/2022)

96 points Wine Enthusiast: "Deep red-violet in the glass, this wine has a bouquet of cherry, black currant and juniper. Durable tannins coat the palate, bearing flavors of cassis, dark plums, dark chocolate and violet that lead into the spice-filled finish (MD)" (01/2023)

95 points Wine Advocate: "The classical 2016 Imperial Gran Reserva was produced with a blend of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo from grapes that were picked between October 10 and 25 with good ripeness, delivering a wine with 14.5% alcohol after fermenting in small oak vats followed by malolactic in concrete and two years in barrel and three in bottle. I was quite surprised, because the wine was quite closed and needed energetic swirling and time in the glass to reveal its true colors. It has more stuffing and finesse than the reserva. 2016 was a very good vintage, with freshness and balance to develop nicely in bottle. The tannins are very fine, and the wine is tasty and long. (LG)" (07/2022)

94 points Vinous: "Deep, brilliant ruby. Cherry, cassis, vanilla and incense on the expansive nose, where a zesty mineral note adds vibrancy. Sappy and precise on the palate, offering sweet dark berry, cherry liqueur and violet pastille flavors along with hints of mocha and spicecake. Rich and ample in style but shows superb energy as well. Finishes sweet, seamless and extremely long, with lingering florality and polished, fully integrated tannins. (JR)" (04/2021)