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This is the first of four wine categories by ageing. And, unlike the rest of the groupings (Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva), a wine classified as Joven hasn’t been aged at all. This means, after it has finished fermenting, it is bottled in its first or second year and released directly for consumption.  

Young wines typically maintain more fresh primary attributes and are less full and more fruit-forward than the rest. This makes them less astringent and they stand out for having great aromas. 

You’ve probably seen someone swirl their glass of wine and watch it before they taste. Do you know why? This motion is used to observe what is called the wine’s legs, among other things. This is just the streaks left by the droplets on the inside of the glass.  

Wine legs aren’t just poetic, they can be a valuable source of information in a tasting because these streaks tell us, for example, about the viscosity or alcohol content of the wine.  

If the drops fall slowly, it means the wine is denser and more full-bodied. If it’s slower, though, the wine is lighter and has less alcohol.  

But don’t trust this test blindly! There are many factors that can affect wine legs, for example the glass you are using (above all if it has soap residue) or the temperature difference between the wine and the glass. So, don’t forget this is just one small part of the tasting experience. 

After some wines have fermented, a natural sediment forms at the bottom of the container. This material is called lees and it is made up of various substances from the grapes, such as yeast, fatty acids and polyphenols.  

The lees are an essential component for enriching the wine, as they naturally protect and stabilise the wine, locking in aromas and giving it volume and viscosity.  

How? With the French technique known as batonnage. With this technique, winemakers stir the settled lees back into the wine periodically to extract more from them. It can be done in stainless-steel tanks, using a stainless-steel stirring rod, or in the barrel directly.  

Our Coto de Imaz Reserva Blanco, for example, undergoes this process during its 12 months ageing in new steam-bent French-oak barrels, giving it spectacular complexity and fruitiness. Have you tried it yet?  

In previous posts, we’ve talked about terms like winemaking, ageing and fermenting wine, but we still have one very important concept to cover: maceration.  

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, macerating means “to leave food in a liquid so that it absorbs the liquid and becomes soft, or to become soft in this way.”  

In the wine world, the ‘food’ is none other than the grape skins, which are submerged in a liquid, which obviously is the fermented grape must. This process gives the wine colour and extracts different aromas and other substances, like tannins.  

And how is wine macerated? That depends on what type it is. For example, our Coto Rosado undergoes a very special maceration (done very quickly at a low temperature for a variable amount of time) plus, we then press it afterwards. All of this results in a delicate, fresh, tantalising wine. 

Finally, speaking about maceration, we have to differentiate four different types:  

1. Carbonic maceration: a specific technique for making red wines. In this process, the whole grape undergoes enzymatic intracellular fermentation. It is mainly used to get light, aromatic young wines. 
2. Cold maceration: as the name indicates, this process uses lower temperatures to enrich the primary aromas of the wine. 
3. Warm maceration: also called thermovinification. This technique yields more colour in the wine. Here the crushed grapes are quickly warmed and then cooled before fermentation. Normally, it reaches a maximum temperature of 60 °C to 75 °C.  
4. Alcohol-enriched maceration: one of the least common methods, only used for certain types of wines. 

Although there is a standard size for wine bottles (specifically 75 cl), there are many other formats. One of them is what is known as a Magnum.  

These bottles are becoming more common and hold more than the standard bottle. Magnums contain 1.5 l (the third from the left in the picture).  

This type of container is perfect for a more balanced wine. This is due to the fact that there is less micro-oxygenation in these bottles and they are less sensitive to temperature change. For example, we use them for our Coto de Imaz Reserva Magnum, a perfect option for a special occasion with friends and family. 

Did you know that, after this size, all the bottle names are from the Bible? We tell you all about it in this post. 

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, ‘to decant’ means “to gradually pour (wine, port, or another liquid) from one container into another, typically in order to separate out sediment.” Though this definition is correct, it hardly teaches us anything about the art, don’t you think? What this definition doesn’t tell us is that decanting a wine is also a technique for brining out the different notes in the drink.

By decanting, we improve the qualities of a wine, since we release the flavours and the aromas that could be hidden in the bottle until we open it.

As such, decanting plays three main roles:

1. It aerates the wine (since it brings the wine into contact with the air)
2. It improves its bouquet
3. Gets rid of or filters out the sediment in the bottle

Now we know what decanting means and why we do it, there’s another question that we need to clear up: do we need to decant every single wine? The answer is no.

In general, it is only recommendable to decant red wines since they tend to accumulate more sediments. However, regardless of the type of grape, this process is only done on vintage wines (such as our Coto de Imaz Reserva) or if a wine has been in the bottle for a long time.

In our article on how to store a wine at home, one of our recommendation was to lay the bottles horizontally to conserves the wine’s flavours and aromas. However, when it comes to decanting, the best thing to do is to set the bottle upright a few hours before serving.

What does this do? Basically, it helps the sediments to separate from the wine and sink to the bottom of the bottle, ensuring that they don’t end up in the glass.

Although decanting essentially involves pouring the liquid from the bottle into another vessel, there is a certain technique involved and certain materials you should use in order not to ruin the product.

The most practical option is to use a decanter, an elegant vessel with a wide base and a thin neck, preferably made of glass. This is the perfect vessel because it allows the wine to come into contact with the air and be aerated, but, at the same time, the aromas that it gives off do not suddenly dissipate.

Once you have all the materials ready and you’ve had the bottle in an upright position for the time necessary, (you could even do this the day before), you can start decanting!

Follow these steps:

1. Check that the sediment has settled at the bottom of the bottle. You can hold it up to a light to get a better look at what’s in the bottle.
2. Then pour the wine into the decanter slowly and smoothly. Try to get the liquid to slide down the walls of the vessel so that it doesn’t splash against the bottom. If not, you could ruin the wine. Stop once you start to see the sediment.
3. Holding it up to a light again, check that no sediment has ended up in the decanter.
4. Allow the wine to rest for a couple of minutes just before you serve it, (never too far in advance), and you’re ready! Raise a toast and sample the wine.

Bordeaux bottle

We’re going to start with the Bordeaux bottle, which is the most commonly used to bottle wine all over the world, although there are some variations. It gets its name from the French city of Bordeaux and has straighter “shoulders” and a shorter neck than other types.

Our Coto de Imaz Gran Reserva, in addition to being spectacular, comes in a Bordeaux bottle, like most of our wines. Have you tried it?

Burgundy bottle

After the most commonly used bottle, let’s turn to the oldest type of bottle on record: the Burgundy bottle. As you can see, the main difference lies in the shoulders, which are much more sloping than the Bordeaux bottle and the longer neck.

Alsace bottle

This is the longest, thinnest and most svelte of all the bottles on the market. It is mainly used for white or rosé wines and comes in light colours. There are some wineries, however, that use it more daring colours.

Champagne bottle

The main characteristic, not of shape but of manufacturing, is that a champagne bottle has much thicker walls than the others. Why? So it can withstand the pressure of this type of wine. Another characteristic of this bottle, which is somewhere between the Burgundy and Alsace bottles, is the cone-shaped punt on the bottom, which also serves the same purpose.

Sherry bottle

This bottle is most commonly used for the fortified wines that are so traditional in southern Spain. The design is of Spanish origin, of course, with very marked shoulders and a particular neck that broadens at its base. This type of bottle is most commonly seen in black glass, as this type of wine is typically stored for a long time.