Before us is a hundred-year-old brand that is one of the most well-known from Rioja. And the Gran Reserva is the top of the range. Cune Gran Reserva 2017 is a red that brings together all of the complexity that has brought Rioja international renown, offering a modern take on gran reservas. It also goes to show that great wineries can produce great wines even from a difficult vintage. This exclusive wine with a special label, is only available in Vinoselección.
Consumption features
Serving temperature
Consumption time
General features
Type of wine
Region
Type of barrel
AMERICAN AND FRENCH OAK
Barrel aging time
24 months
Capacity (cl)
75
Bottling
09/2020
Total acidity (g/l)
5.46
Volatile acidity (g/l)
0.68
Sugar
< 2
pH
3.67
Alcohol content (% vol.)
14
General Information
Cune Gran Reserva 2017 is a standard Rioja blend: 85% tempranillo, 10% graciano, 5% mazuelo, made with CVNE’s best grapes. This wine was produced from a complicated vintage in which despite the harvest being hit by a harsh spring frost, the winery still managed to collect high quality grapes. The grape primarily comes from a selection of vineyards located in Torremontalvo (Rioja Alta) where the average age of the vines is 45. The grape was hand picked.
Alcoholic fermentation took place in small stainless steel and concrete vats with the grape’s own yeasts. Then, the malolactic fermentation occurred in concrete vats, and after 24 months of maturation in American and French oak barrels, the wine was clarified and bottled, where it remained for at least 3 years in the winery’s cellars. The result is a gran reserva that brings together the best of winemaking tradition from a hundred-year-old winery and impeccable production conditions that allow the latest technology.
The CVNE winery has 141 years of history and it continues today as one of the most important in Spanish wine. It remains in the original location in the Estación neighbourhood in Haro, the heart of the appellation, as it was there that Rioja’s pioneering wineries began: CVNE was one of the first in Spain to bottle and export wine. Throughout the years, CVNE has diversified its business activities to become a thriving group with wineries in other areas of Rioja and in other appellations. Cune continues to be its flagship wine.
Cune Gran Reserva 2017 (D.O.C. Rioja) is a red wine that will pair very well with meat stews such as a lamb casserole or braised venison. It will also go perfectly with a grilled beef sirloin.
Tasting notes
Beautiful ripe cherry-red colour with a dark crimson edge, very good robe and bright. Elegant and complex on the nose, with berry nuances (blueberry, blackberry), a hint of barrel spices (pepper, vanilla), evocative of the Mediterranean low forest and shrub lands, and ending with pleasant balsamic echoes of resin and eucalyptus. The palate has good constitution, ripe tannins, smooth and velvety with volume and depth. Notes of spices and ripe fruit with echoes of chocolate. Long and persistent finish with crisp hints of liqueur fruit.
The winery
Winery
The Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España is one of the great symbols of the Estación de Haro neighborhood, the great capital of Rioja wine. Founded in 1879 by the brothers Raimundo and Eusebio Real de Asúa, CVNE (as it is known worldwide) can proudly claim to have remained at the top throughout its history. Ten years after its creation, the winery inaugurated an impressive barrel hall designed by the studio of Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. By 1900, it was already producing nearly 80,000 bottles, an unthinkable feat for the time. The 20th century established CVNE as an institution of Spanish wine.
Over 140 years, it has successfully combined tradition and innovation to create wines that today are the standard-bearers of Rioja reds and have garnered international critical acclaim. Its Imperial Gran Reserva 2004 made history when it was chosen as Wine of the Year 2013 by the prestigious American magazine Wine Spectator, marking the first time a Spanish wine received this recognition.
Since its foundation, CVNE has expanded its heritage and grown with avant-garde projects at different times in its history, such as the creation of Viñedos del Contino or Viña Real.