Winemaker Notes
Blend: 90% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A deep and aromatic red showing ripe-blackberry, rosemary and slate character. Hints of bark, too. Full-bodied and round with firm and concentrated tannins in addition to a long, refreshing yet subtle finish with hints of tea. Delicious and balanced. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Viña Real Reserva is a blend of mostly Tempranillo with Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano from Rioja Alavesa; it fermented in stainless steel and aged in new oak barriques for 22 months with rackings every four months. I found the whole Viña Real range pretty closed and backward, serious, with moderate oak and pretty good balance. There is good ripeness without any excess or signs of heat (it was a very dry year), with some floral aromas coming out with time in the glass. Fine and elegant, quite a surprise.
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Wine Enthusiast
Compact, almost gritty aromas of tree bark and herbal berry fruits require time to breathe. After necessary airing, this is elegant and fresh on the palate, but full in body. Herbal plum and berry flavors are leathery, spicy and suggest tomato as this transitions to a firm, racy finish. Drink through 2020.
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.