Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The really impressive 2009 Rioja Gran Reserva is a classic among classics, mainly Tempranillo with just 5% Graciano, the wine fermented in stainless steel and matured in new barriques for 24 with rackings every four months. This is a ripe and powerful wine but not heavy. It has developed aromas of incense and smoked cured meat, sour cherries, plenty of spices that are almost curry-like. The palate shows good concentration, but it's medium-bodied with very fine tannins and good freshness. It is more than I expected, and to be honest for a Gran Reserva and for the quality it delivers, this is very fairly priced.
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Wine Spectator
Smoky and earthy notes give this firm red an austere character, but cherry, licorice and tobacco flavors shine through the firm tannins and lead to a juicy, floral finish. Shows balance and depth. Best from 2016 through 2022. 600 cases imported.
Owned by the CVNE family , Viña Real dates back to 1920. Today this winery is not only a winemaking pioneer in ageing Rioja Alavesa but a timeless brand that has always remained faithful to its roots, with authenticity and sincerity at the fore.
Ever since then, a meticulous balance between tradition and modernity has defined the shape and content of Viña Real.
2004 saw the inauguration of the new Viña Real winery in Laguardia, where the whole process takes place from receiving the grapes to dispatching bottled wines.
Rioja Alavesa grapes are at the very heart of this winery. The winery’s name was inspired by the proximity of its vineyards to the old Camino Real. Clinging to this same patch of earth and blending into the Cerro de la Mesa hill is a monumental 30,000-square metre vat: this is the Viña Real building, an iconic design built in 2004 that masterfully blends the construction into the Riojan terrain.
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.