Gran Reserva Vina Real
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 10 to 25 years from the vintage, though exceptional vintages can easily cellar for 30 years or more.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted milk-fed lamb, slow-braised beef cheeks, and aged Manchego cheese.
✨ Technical Specifications
First released in the 1920s, Viña Real by CVNE represents a landmark in Rioja Alavesa winemaking, named in honor of the ancient Camino Real that once ran nearby. Unlike its sibling Imperial, which is housed in Bordeaux-style bottles to signal structured power, Viña Real is famously bottled in Burgundy-shaped glass, symbolizing its softer, more elegant, and highly aromatic profile. The wine is crafted predominantly from Tempranillo grown in the clay-limestone soils of Laguardia and Elciego, complemented by small portions of Graciano and Mazuelo. Aged for at least 24 months in a combination of French and American oak casks inside CVNE's state-of-the-art, gravity-fed winery, this Gran Reserva marries the rich, dark fruit character of Rioja Alavesa with the complex, savory notes of long barrel and bottle aging.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1879 in Haro's iconic Barrio de la Estación by brothers Eusebio and Raimundo Real de Asúa, Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España (CVNE) stands as an architectural and viticultural pillar of DOCa Rioja. Still stewarded by fifth-generation descendants under CEO Víctor Urrutia, the historic house commands premier vineyard parcels across Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa, rooted primarily in calcareous clay and alluvial gravel under an Atlantic-moderated continental climate. CVNE has historically driven technical modernizations, incorporating gravity-flow winemaking, Eiffel-engineered cellars, and early concrete fermentation vats alongside classical oak maturation. Viticulture emphasizes environmental stewardship, evidenced by active membership in International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA). The house crafts legendary expressions, from the flagship Imperial Gran Reserva and the singular Real de Asúa to pioneering whites such as Viña Real Blanco, Monopole Clásico, and the scarce Corona Gran Reserva, reflecting balance, age-worthiness, and traditional Spanish winemaking precision.
🍇 Grapes
Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo