From the atlas
El Coto de Rioja
Rioja producer with 730 hectares of owned vineyards, oak aged red wines and a high altitude white vineyard at Finca Carbonera.
At A Glance
| Field | Detail |
| Region | Rioja |
| Home facilities | Oyón, Álava |
| Red wines | Tempranillo |
| White wine | Viura, Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc |
| Named white vineyard | Finca Carbonera |
| Cellar practice | Red wines aged in oak barrels |
The Producer
El Coto de Rioja describes itself as Rioja's largest winegrower, with 730 hectares of owned vineyards. Its range includes Tempranillo reds, El Coto Crianza Organic, and El Coto Blanco, a white blend of Viura, Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc.
All of the producer's red wines are aged in oak barrels. Oak ageing allows gradual oxygen contact and can bring vanilla, toast, spice and softer texture over time. César Fernández is technical director, with Cosme De La Rica, Javier Fernández and Susana Rodríguez as oenologists.
Place
El Coto's holdings comprise eight individual vineyards spread across Rioja's subzones. The producer's facilities and registered address are in Oyón, Álava, while the vineyard range extends across several parts of the denomination.
El Coto Blanco connects the range to a named vineyard source, Finca Carbonera. The white wine comes from this property, while the red range uses Tempranillo and oak ageing.
Soil And Site
Finca Carbonera is the vineyard at the highest altitude in DOC Rioja, at 840 m. Grapes from the property make El Coto Blanco, a blend of Viura, Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc.
The wine is fresh on the nose and palate, moving from white fruit aromas to fresh citrus character. The site enters the bottle through its named vineyard source and high altitude, with no soil description attached to the wine.
Story
El Coto de Rioja carried out its first harvest in the Rioja denomination in 1970. In 1976, the producer inaugurated its facilities in Oyón, Álava.
César Fernández now holds the technical director role, alongside oenologists Cosme De La Rica, Javier Fernández and Susana Rodríguez. The present operation spans oak aged red wines and a white blend sourced from Finca Carbonera.
Vineyards And Cellar
Vinification takes place in tanks no larger than 50,000 litres. Smaller vessels give the cellar more control over each fermentation because a limited volume can be managed as one unit.
The producer ages all red wines in oak barrels. Oak permits gradual oxygen contact during maturation and can add vanilla, toast and spice while changing the texture of the wine.
Wines
The red range begins with El Coto Crianza, made from Tempranillo and aged for at least 12 months in 225 litre American oak barrels, followed by at least six months in bottle.
Coto de Imaz Reserva is also made from Tempranillo. It spends 18 months in 225 litre American oak barrels and at least another 18 months in bottle. Coto de Imaz Gran Reserva is identified as Tempranillo and receives at least 24 months in American and French oak, followed by at least 36 months of bottle refinement.
El Coto Crianza Organic is made from organically grown Tempranillo without synthetic chemicals and spends at least 12 months in 225 litre American oak barrels. El Coto Blanco provides the white counterpart, blending Viura, Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc from Finca Carbonera.
In The Glass
Coto de Imaz Reserva has ripe fruit and fine cocoa aromas, followed by a meaty, velvety palate with ripe tannins and good acidity. Coto de Imaz Gran Reserva brings toast and coconut, then leather or damp earth, red fruit and nuts. Round, well integrated tannins carry a complex, persistent aftertaste.
El Coto Crianza Organic has red fruit and balsamic aromas, vibrant acidity, pleasant tannins and a lingering palate. El Coto Blanco is very fresh on nose and palate, moving from white fruit to fresh citrus.
A Bottle To Understand It
Open with El Coto Crianza. It sits before Coto de Imaz Reserva and Coto de Imaz Gran Reserva in the named Tempranillo red range, so the longer ageing programmes of the two Coto de Imaz wines can be understood as later stages.
El Coto Crianza combines fresh fruit with vanilla and toasted oak, then turns silky and persistent, with integrated spice. It places Tempranillo, American oak and bottle maturation in one bottle.
Anecdote
Between 1990 and 1997, El Coto expanded by doubling both its facilities and its barrel stock. The expansion covered two physical parts of the operation at once. Facilities provide room for winery work, while barrels are the oak vessels used to age red wine. The enlargement therefore covered both the spaces where wine was made and the vessels used for red ageing. The seven year period brought twice the facilities and twice the barrel stock to the company.
Final Word
El Coto de Rioja combines Rioja vineyard holdings with Tempranillo reds aged in oak. El Coto Blanco adds a Viura, Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc blend from Finca Carbonera. The range runs from Crianza through Reserva and Gran Reserva, with El Coto Crianza Organic alongside El Coto Crianza.
Sources
- https://elcoto.com/en/history/
- https://elcoto.com/en/our-vineyards/
- https://elcoto.com/en/the-winery/
- https://elcoto.com/en/our-artisans/
- https://riojawine.com/en-us/bodegas-rioja/el-coto-de-rioja/
- https://talk-a-vino.com/2023/12/14/rioja-worth-seeking-el-coto-de-rioja/
- https://elcoto.com/en/crianza/
- https://elcoto.com/en/reserva/
- https://elcoto.com/en/gran-reserva/
- https://elcoto.com/en/el-coto-crianza-ecologico/
- https://elcoto.com/en/white/