Winemaker Notes
Intense cherry color. In the nose, great aromatic richness in intensity and complexity. It mantains a perfect balance between the aromas of tempranillo, such as the mature wild fruits and licorice, with those from the graciano, which gives a mineral touch, it all complemented with the roasted and balsamic aromas from the barrel aging. Excellent entrance in the mouth, round and well structured, with a good assembly between wood and youth which provides amplitude and elegance. It is a great wine with typical characteristics of the region. It is perfect for having it alone or meat, fatty fishes, and cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A delicious red now with wet earth, spice and ash aromas and flavors. Medium body, fine tannins and a fresh finish. A nice wine from a difficult vintage.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
he Gran Reserva from Viña Real is also from the wet, cool and challenging 2013 vintage, so I tasted the 2013 Viña Real Gran Reserva next to the Cune Gran Reserva from the same vintage. This classical blend of Tempranillo with 10% Mazuelo and 5% Graciano matured in barrel for 24 months. This is a redder style of Viña Real, a little lighter, less concentrated and more aerial, with a cereal-like twist and a medium-bodied palate with very fine tannins. Good for food.
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Wine Enthusiast
Dried plum and cherry aromas include spice and mulchy notes. This is yet another 2013 Rioja that's got issues—which doesn't mean this isn't without its charms. A tannic palate is raw and gritty but built to last. Cherry and red berry flavors finish short.
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Wine & Spirits
This is a classical style of Rioja, with a lightly tannic green-peppercorn grip to the strawberry highlights of fruit. It’s edged by oak notes of nutmeg and turmeric, lasting on spice. For lamb meatballs with mint.
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.