C.V.N.E.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
The 2008 is made up of 88 percent Tempranillo and 12 percent Graciano with ageing for 36 months in oak of various origins. The wine is subsequently rich and deep; however there is balance and harmony beneath the rippling musculature.
Old school Rioja can vary tremendously; there is a fine line between the sublime and the ridiculous and the bad ones can be very bad indeed. This is one of the very best and a firm favourite chez moi.
One of the most reliable and impressive of the traditional houses in Rioja, C.V.N.E. is still owned and run by the Real de Asua family whose forebears established it back in 1879. Its full name is Compañía Vinicola del Norte de España but it more commonly, if somewhat prosaically, known, phonetically at least, as "coonay". In the late 1980s the firm built an immense new stainless steel winery in the town of Haro to complement its traditional barrel cellar. CVNE is therefore a palace of steel in one location; a cathedral of oak in another. The ‘twain meet, harmoniously.
CVNE’s two signature brands are Vina Real and Imperial. Both are traditional in style and aspiration, although the original idea, never completely forgotten, was for Real to resemble Burgundy and Imperial to be closer, stylistically, to Bordeaux. The Imperial Gran Reserva sources fruit from the best vineyards in both La Rioja Baja and La Rioja Alta. Only the best fruit form the best years is aged for so long, with extensive further bottle age prior to release; the wine repays the complement with its elegant understated power.
(Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
(Simon Field MW , BBR Buyer)
Magnum 3 x 150cl 1cs
At its heart lies the eponymous hundred year-old olive tree, its shade pretty much the perfect setting for an al fresco luncheon or impromptu tasting, ideally with the former immediately following the latter. The 2007 is made up of 88 % Tempranillo and 12 % Graciano and has been aged for 36 months in oak from a variety of different origins, mainly France, the USA and Hungary It is rich and toasty, with a fine balance between dark berried fruit, flowers, minerals and spice; worth approaching from 2012 and will keep for up to a decade thereafter.
(Simon Field MW , BBR Buyer)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bodegas C.V.N.E. is still owned and run by the Real de Asua family whose ancestors established it back in 1879. Its full name is Compañía Vinicola del Norte de España but it more commonly known as "coonay".
In the late 1980s the firm built a spanking new stainless steel winery in the town of Haro and is now producing thoroughly "modern" style Rioja wines. Both red and whites are produced and their white Rioja is one of the few remaining heavily-oaked examples on the market today.
The 2 different ranges of C.V.N.E, the Vina Real and Imperial, are rich, full-bodied Riojas, with the Reservas and Grand Reservas being some of the most long-lived in the region today.