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Part of the famous C.V.N.E stable, this special wine is named in honour of the Real de Asúa brothers who founded C.V.N.E. in the 1870s. 100% Tempranillo grapes from the smallest village in the Rioja Alta sub-region, Villalba. The cool, windy Atlantic climate here leaves its beautiful stamp of freshness. The grapes are vinified in the legendary Imperial winery and matured in a warehouse designed by Gustave Eiffel, seeing 18 months oak ageing and then a minimum of 18 months of bottle ageing. Incredibly pure, pristine red fruit is laced with liquorice, purple flowers, cigar box and sous-bois. An elegant, sumptuous Reserva Rioja that is drinking marvellously. We love its label depicting a painting by the famous Spanish artist Eduardo Arroyo Rodríguez. Drink 2020-2030.
Part of the famous C.V.N.E stable, this special wine is named in honour of the Real de Asúa brothers who founded C.V.N.E. in the 1870s. 100% Tempranillo grapes from the smallest village in the Rioja Alta sub-region, Villalba. The cool, windy Atlantic climate here leaves its beautiful stamp of freshness. The grapes are vinified in the legendary Imperial winery and matured in a warehouse designed by Gustave Eiffel, seeing 18 months oak ageing and then a minimum of 18 months of bottle ageing. Incredibly pure, pristine red fruit is laced with liquorice, purple flowers, cigar box and sous-bois. An elegant, sumptuous Reserva Rioja that is drinking marvellously. We love its label depicting a painting by the famous Spanish artist Eduardo Arroyo Rodríguez. Drink 2020-2030.
Mid garnet. Invitingly mature and complex aroma of red fruit and something that smells creamy. Still some primary red fruits even though the developed and more leathery character is taking the lead. Dry, fine tannins, still with some grip and still needing food, though it is ageing really well, without excessive oak influence. Just perfect now but no hurry.
By far the best known of Spain's wine regions is Rioja, which takes its name from the rio(river) Oja, a tributary of the river Ebro. Lying in the north of the country, along the Ebro valley, the area is sheltered from rain-bearing Atlantic winds by the dramatic Sierra de Cantabria to the north and west. The hilly vineyards are interspersed with orchards, poplars and eucalyptus trees. Rioja is further divided into three sub-regions - Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Baja. The first two are best regarded, with vines planted on cool slopes with clay and limestone soils. The permitted grape varieties for Rioja are tempranillo, which is grown extensively in Rioja Alta and Alavesa and will form the backbone of all the best wines, garnacha, widespread in Rioja Baja and used to add body to the blend, and mazuelo (carignan) and graciano, both grown in miniscule proportions. The key to understanding Rioja is the technique used to mature the wine. Unlike most other areas of Europe, American oak barrels are used which give the wines their characteristic soft vanilla, almost coconuty flavour. Historically the wines were aged for periods far longer than legally required, until all the fruit character had died down and the end result was a light, tawny-coloured wine dominated by oak flavours. Although there are still supporters of this classic style, far more producers are making wines in a more modern way, allowing the dark berry fruit flavours to burst through balanced by a more judicious use of oak ageing and often opting for French oak now.
