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2016 Cune (CVNE) Viña Real Rioja Crianza

Not Currently In Auction

Latest Sale Price

July 16, 2023 - $16

Estimate

RATINGS

91The Wine Advocate

...expressive, deliciously aromatic, floral and elegant...has depth and complexity... The palate is fresh and balanced, with fine tannins.

91Wine Spectator

...dense and focused, with cherry, berry and vanilla flavors that emerge as the tannins give way, leading to a floral and spicy finish.

91+ John Gilman

...pretty, ripe, and already quite generous wine, delivering a deep and spicy bouquet of black raspberries, smoked meats, cloves, cigar smoke, a hint of dill, a good base of soil and some cedary oak in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and complex, with a good core and soil signature, modest tannins and a long, tangy and spicy finish.

REGION

Spain, Rioja

Rioja Demoninación de Origine Calificada is Spain’s most important wine region. Located in northern Spain, it comprises 135,000 vineyard acres and was the first official appellation in Spain, earning its official DO status in 1926. In 1991 it became Spain’s first DOCa, Spain’s most prestigious appellation category. The DOCa is divided into three subzones: La Rioja Alavesa in the northeast; La Rioja Alta in the southwest; and La Rioja Baja in the east. About 75 percent of Rioja wines are reds, with Tempranillo the predominant grape. Garnacha (Grenache), Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano, a spicy, high-acidity red grape, are also allowed. White wines are made from Macabeo, Garnacha Blanca and Malvasia. Wines were made in this region well before the Romans arrived, though the Romans then the medieval monks refined vineyard management and wine production. In the 19th century French families migrated to Rioja after phylloxera wiped out their vineyards, and the French helped establish the tradition of wine blends, still part of Rioja winemaking. According to the rules for the appellation, a wine labelled a simple Rioja can spend less than a year in an oak aging barrel. A Criziana is aged for at least two years, one in oak. Rioja Reserva is aged at least three years, with at least one in oak. A Rioja Gran Reserva must be aged at least five years, with two years in oak.