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 aging potential. Medium- to full-bodied with a very long finish. Try after 2026.
96 points, Zekun Shuai, James Suckling (Aug 2024)
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+ points, Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate (Feb 2024)
Mouthwatering freshness supported by a firm acid verve and chalky tannins hold the core of prune, blackberry and black cherry with strrenth and ease. Powdery graphite, dark chocolate shavings, liquorice root, mocha and chcocolate mousse build layers of broody complexity. CVNE's best vineyards in Rioja Alta provide the fruit for Imperial Gran Reserva – 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo in 2018, from Villalba and Torremontalbo. Fermentation with native yeasts was followed by malolactic in concrete vats, then the wine was aged for two years in 80% French and 20% American oak barrels, new and second-use, with racking every eight months, and further ageing in bottle before release. A wine that, still teasingly coiled, has a long time ahead of it.
95 points, Ines Salpico, Decanter (Mar 2025)
A lovely, harmonious red, with a lush quality to the chopped mulberry and cherry fruit that's trimmed nicely by plum skin acidity and fine-grained, sinewy tannins. Violet, licorice, iron, olive and herb details add complexity and appeal, echoing on the vibrant finish. Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo. Drink now through 2038. 4,166 cases made, 500 cases imported.
94 points, Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator (Dec 2024)
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