A chateau in a bend of the river

CVNE built Vinedos del Contino in 1973 because Rioja did not yet have a chateau, one estate where the vines and the cellar were the same place. The house is at Laserna, in a bend of the Ebro, a short way from Laguardia in Rioja Alavesa. Sixty-two hectares sit around that manor.

What belongs beside roast lamb when the reserva grew in a bend of the Ebro?

The 2019 Reserva is the bottle from the best plots in a year the estate called excellent. James Suckling scored it 97 points on 11 April 2023. The fruit is bright, the tannin is rounded, and the glass is meant for the table.

North bank of the Ebro

The map puts Contino in Rioja Alavesa, on the north bank, between Laguardia and Logrono, where the Ebro swings around the estate. The soils change from plot to plot. The winery picks by hand and keeps each microplot apart.

2019 was dry, a little under the usual rain. A late May shower hit some varieties while they were in flower, so the clusters came in loose and the berries stayed small. The summer brought heat. The harvest weather turned kind, and the estate called the vintage excellent.

Plot by plot, then oak

Tempranillo leads at 86 percent. Mazuelo and Graciano are 6 percent each, and Garnacha is 2 percent. The alcohol on the estate sheet is 13.89 percent. Each plot fermented on its own in small stainless steel and concrete tanks.

The wine then spent 18 months in oak, 90 percent French and 10 percent American, and was bottled in March 2022. The estate marks this vintage suitable for vegans. The Mazuelo and the Graciano hold the acidity. The Tempranillo holds the body.

Violet, strawberry, and a mineral line

The estate describes a fresh nose, fruit with a balsamic and mineral edge, and tannins that finish silky. James Suckling scored the 2019 97 points. He found violet, strawberry, raspberry, and orange peel, a medium body, and a mineral brightness he called vivid. Drink it or hold it.

Wine-Searcher, checked on 2026-10-29, put the U.S. market low at $43.91 and the average at $49.23. The corner above carries those figures and the link to the public find page.

The same estate, this vintage

The photograph shows other bottles from the same house, including a later reserva. This listing is the 2019 Reserva, the estate red from the year the clusters stayed small.

The film is the estate's own, on the CVNE channel. It opens on that bend of the river and the Contino name.

Lamb, and a pot of beans

Put it next to lamb that has had time, and next to white beans with chorizo. The bright red fruit meets the rosemary. The rounded tannin meets the broth.