Contino debuts on La Place de Bordeaux with Chorus

The ties between Bordeaux and Rioja continue to strengthen. Following the launch of Cvne’s Real de Asúa on La Place de Bordeaux, the Rioja-based group is set to release a second wine on this major marketplace next month.

This time, the spotlight falls on Viñedos del Contino, Cvne’s estate in Rioja Alavesa. The new release, Chorus, is the result of a collaboration between CEO Víctor Urrutia and Guillaume Thienpont of the renowned Pomerol estate Vieux Château Certan. As Urrutia describes it, the wine is a choral work with "a Spanish voice and a French accent."

According to Cvne's chairman, “it has taken a master of Pomerol’s power and finesse to find and then interpret the purest expression of this vineyard.” Thienpont, for his part, was drawn to the challenge of working with Tempranillo seeking, in his own words, “the same finesse, purity and delicacy of texture that I pursue in Pomerol, without ever losing the identity of this land.”

After exploring the estate and its various terroirs, he opted to focus exclusively on Tempranillo, moving away from Contino’s traditional  blending approach. Until now, the estate’s single-varietal wines had been made from secondary varieties: Graciano, Garnacha and Mazuelo. This will therefore be its first 100% Tempranillo bottling.

Working with the technical team led by Jorge Navascués and with the support of winemaker Jordi Francés and viticulturist Irene Bonilla, Thienpont selected grapes from three different plots on the estate: Viña del Olivo (40%; alluvial, clay-limestone soils with pebbles), San Gregorio La Encina (20%; clay-loam soils) and Don Vicente (40%; clay-limestone soils with pockets of red clay). These plots also correspond to the estate's oldest vines.

Each plot was vinified and aged separately, with the final blend assembled after 12 months in barrel. At Contino, the 2024 vintage is considered fresh, having benefited from significant temperature variations between day and night during the ripening season.

We tasted Chorus last month at Wine Paris alongside Víctor Urrutia. Cvne was exhibiting at its courtier's stand in the French hall, lending added resonance to the launch of this collaboration between Rioja and Bordeaux.

In the glass, Chorus shows remarkable fruit intensity, crafted to achieve optimal ripeness without excess. Herbal notes reflect the freshness of the vintage, while a supple,  velvety texture sets it apart from other estate wines, bringing distinctive roundness, depth and mouthfeel. 

The new Chorus will officially go on sale on 20 April with an expected retail price of €150-€180. Only 2,880 bottles have been produced.