85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo (Cariñena)
Geographical Attributes
Hailed as the star red variety in Spain’s most celebrated wine region, Tempranillo from Rioja, or simply labeled, “Rioja,” produces elegant wines with complex notes of red and black fruit, crushed rock, leather, toast and tobacco, whose best examples are fully capable of decades of improvement in the cellar.
Rioja wines are typically a blend of fruit from its three sub-regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta and Alavesa, at the highest elevations, are considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier, Rioja Oriental, produce wines with deep color, great body and richness.
Vintner Notes
The wine is mid garnet in color with pink hints at the rim. It has good aromatic complexity where a perfect balance between ripe fruits and notes from barrel ageing, such as sweet spices, tobacco leaf and roasted coffee can be found. The palate is silky with fine-grained tannins, and a gently acidic finish giving freshness followed by a long, balsamic aftertaste.
CVNE Gran Reserva 2014 is perfect for accompanying any dish based on Mediterranean cuisine.
Ratings
Robert Parker 92.CVNE still buys half of the grapes they vinify, but they now use 100% of their own grapes for the 2014 Cune Gran Reserva. From a challenging year with abundant rains during the harvest, it's approximately 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo (Cariñena), a classical blend with 13.5% alcohol. It fermented in stainless steel and concrete vats with indigenous yeasts followed by malolactic in concrete and élevage in American and French oak barrels for 24 months. The bottles are kept for at least three years before they are sold. It's quite austere and serious, with a shy nose and a backward personality but with the sweet spices and the character of the traditional Gran Reservas. The palate is polished and balanced, with very fine and abundant tannins. It's a powerful Gran Reserva with some youth. It transcends the difficult harvest.
Wine Enthusiast 92.Gritty olive and rubbery black-fruit aromas give this gran reserva an earthy, reduced opening. That's contrasted by sharp acidity, which brightens plum and savory berry flavors. Plum and chocolate notes come with coffee-like blackness on a finish where lively acidity reappears.
James Suckling 93.A chewy and rich gran reserva with rich, ripe fruit and hints of tobacco and vanilla. Medium to full body. Linear and focused. Extremely well done.
