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CVNE Vina Real Horizontal in 2013

There are few great values in the world of aged fine wine, and it’s not a growth category. In fact, the number of options available to those with a modest budget continues to shrink quite rapidly as the global pool of wine lovers expands. Among the treats still out there to be discovered (though not for long), traditional Rioja remains an amazing value.


Not only are many of these wines still priced very attractively--though the prices for the top wines have skyrocketed over the past several years--but the wines themselves deliver like few others. Two points work in Rioja’s favor, the first being that for as long as I can remember, they have in fact been out of favor with wine lovers. There was no great marker for old Rioja, so bottles didn’t get moved around the globe to be sold and resold before eventually finding their way into an aficionado's hand (who was intent on actually drinking the wine).


The second fact that makes old Rioja so attractive in today’s wine market is the unusual aging curve of these wines. Aged for long periods of time in wood, and then in the bottle before sale, these are wines that were drinking well on release. So well, in fact, that few people probably had faith that they might evolve for decades. After about their first decade, traditional Rioja Reservas and Gran Reservas do show a noticeable change reflective of their age, but that’s just about when the magic starts to happen.


Unlike any other wine I can think of, Rioja, after a certain age, tends to be a bit of an immovable object, fading slowly away instead of hitting a wall and cracking up. That fading is glacially slow, confronted with the amazing persistence of Tempranillo’s fruit and structure. Wines that are 50 years old or more don’t differ markedly from wines 30 years their junior. Of course, they are different, bearing the marks of their vintage and winemaking. But well-preserved bottles of rather ancient Rioja can be rich and robust, still packed with fruit and complexity. It’s a memorable experience--that first pristine bottle of old Rioja that crosses one’s lips--and thoroughly convincing as well, which is why the marketplace is waking up to the value these wines offer.


As with all mature wines, you never really know what you’re getting when you buy a bottle of old Rioja. As with any other wine, storage issues abound, but chances are good that you will find a wine that is still intact, delivering all the hallmarks of great Rioja. One trait that old Rioja does share with at least one other old wine, in this case Barolo, is that it loves air. Even when they’re fairly ancient, these wines that have been produced in a slightly oxidative style need time to unwind after being cooped up in a bottle for decades. If you do buy a bottle and find it lacking, don’t dismiss it out of hand. Have some patience, several hours of patience, and you just might be shocked at the renaissance some of the bottles manage to pull off.


I recently sat with several friends for an opulent meal served as a backdrop for a lineup of C.V.N.E.’s Vina Real Gran Reserva, though several of the wines were in fact labelled Reserva Especial. Vina Real takes its name from the Camino del Real, whose historic path skirted some of the Rioja Alavesa vineyards that went into the original wines, first bottled in 1920. Today the wine is called “modern, balanced, and elegant” by C.V.N.E., though if I had to guess from what remains in the bottles with some of these old vintages, they would have used the same terms from the start.


Most of the wines showed well tonight, though we did have two corked bottles, and one that showed some signs of less than ideal storage. In general they were vibrant, still well-fruited, and aromatic. A real treat to try them all, and with few exceptions, wines that have many years of life ahead of them.


1978 C.V.N.E. Vina Real Gran Reserva


Dried cherry fruit greets the nose along with a whiff of smoke and the lift of VA. Further time in the glass reveals dry soil and dried dill notes along with a little leather rounding things out. The acidity is well integrated here, making this seem a touch soft in the mouth while keeping the red fruits juicy on the mid-palate. At times a touch lean, this gains a minty aspect on the finish and some weight, but continues to lack a little brightness and detail in the mouth. 88 points


1976 C.V.N.E. Vina Real Gran Reserva


Sweet and soft on the nose, which offers up a captivating blend of raspberry jam, licorice, tar, leather and sandalwood. Soft, broad and supple on entry, this delivers clear, bright red fruit framed by subtle tannins, which help add some drive and heft on the back end. The fruit shows excellent persistence on the finish; while this is a touch simple, it’s showing particularly well tonight and is a pleasure to drink. The most fun wine of the evening. 92 points


1973 C.V.N.E. Vina Real Gran Reserva


Corked, though one could sense the body and richness of the wine on the palate. A shame as I expect sound bottles should be excellent.


1970 C.V.N.E. Vina Real Gran Reserva


Richly fruited on the nose with notes of baked black cherries framed by hints of mint, dill and fennel, along with strong notes of tobacco and sweet medicinal spices. Downright opulent on entry, this is rich and powerful in the mouth with bright acids and polished tannins in perfect harmony. The core of red fruit shows excellent energy and cut, underlain as it is with mineral and umami notes. There’s a lovely hint of game on the finish here, along with an incipient cast of autumnal spice. Deep, precise and complete, this is a winner. 94 points


1968 C.V.N.E. Vina Real Gran Reserva


Corked to the extent that you couldn’t get anything out of it.


1962 C.V.N.E. Vina Real Reserva Especial


A little lean and slightly herbal at first, this gained depth and complexity with air, revealing layers of cherry, smoke, pickle barrel, smoked paprika and cigar box aromas. Really fresh and aromatic. Elegant and refined on the palate, with an early burst of sandalwood and cigar box, followed by a fine cherry pit note on the back end that drifted onto a long, slightly mineral and spiced finish. This has such a lovely texture, delicate, ethereal and refined. It did lack some fruit and perhaps a touch of depth, but it was still a treat. 91 points


1952 C.V.N.E. Vina Real Reserva Especial


Chalky, earthy and compact on the nose, this did gain complexity in the glass, adding dashes of spicy cherry fruit topped with hints of mint and dill over time. This had impeccable balance and gorgeous fruit that was certainly fading, leaving the wine a little austere in the mouth, but bright and aromatic, though it did not fare well in the glass. This thinned out with air, losing its core of fruit and showing more medicinal and tarry notes with air. On its own, it probably would have been better received, but in the company revealed its weaknesses. 88 points


1949 C.V.N.E. Vina Real Reserva Especial


Very fresh on the nose, if subtle, with smoky top notes over strawberry, freshly turned earth and fennel aromas, all topped with a hint of vanilla. This was remarkably youthful and bright in the mouth, offering up fresh bitter cherry fruits framed by fresh oak notes and a little herbal nuance. The finish was long, and showed a lovely nervous tension. This is a pristine bottle, and was in fact recently purchased directly from the bodega. It lacks the depth and richness of a great vintage, but is nonetheless a great bottle. 92 points


1944 C.V.N.E. Vina Real Reserva Especial


A bit of caramel greets the nose here followed by slightly roasted notes of sweet herbs, veal stock, and hot iron. On entry this shows a touch of the sweetness of oxidation, which is followed by a somewhat lean mid-palate, which shows pale fruit topped with an herbal edge over a core of dry woodiness. It’s a bit clumsy and I would guess has seen some storage issues over the years, but it is still intact, a testament to Rioja’s durability, and still enjoyable. 85 points




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