Viña Real 1938 Gran Reserva

Wine: Viña Real 1938 Gran Reserva

Winery: CVNE - Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España (Haro, La Rioja)
Appellation / Region: D.O.Ca. Rioja
Varietals: No official data (likely Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Garnacha)
ABV: 12%
Winemaking

 Extensive aging in ancient oak vats to complete malolactic fermentation and stabilize before wood maturation. The wine was aged for a minimum of 10 years (no specific records available from the winery) in seasoned 225-liter American oak barrels. Unfiltered. Depending on the vintage, it remained in the bottle for between 48 and 100 months in the winery’s underground cellars.

 

Tasting Notes
 

Appearance: Dark, medium-high depth reddish-cherry; deeply-hued. It bears no resemblance to a Viña Real with 75 years of life. It shows reddish and orange highlights with a broad copper rim.

 

Nose: An untamed, peculiar (raruno), and wild wine, featuring a profound "bell pepper" note in the foreground. It is a challenging wine to grasp, defying any preconceived notion of an aged Viña Real. Boasting immense strength, it is concentrated and expressive, initially revealing aromatic herbs, sage, and stems. A powerful "vegetable garden" aroma points toward the significant use of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. It mirrors the most Bordeaux-like vintages of Marqués de Riscal (1925-1938-1945-1952) rather than the classic Burgundian profile usually associated with CVNE’s Viña Real. Mentholated notes (camphor) emerge alongside roasted nuances, fine woods, cedar, and an ultra-elegant touch of aged leather and wet earth/leaf litter. There is zero expression of classic aging; it is unclassifiable, incredibly lively, and of supreme quality.

 

Palate: On the palate, it does not taste like a Rioja. Energetic, overflowing with power, and wild—driven by extreme acidity and a concentration more typical of a young red. It possesses a terrifying backbone and a tyrannical structure that seem to make it levitate outside the laws of nature. This wine has not aged! It features velvety yet spirited (nervioso) tannins, tons of concentrated black fruit, toasted notes, spectacular bitters, pure licorice, balsams, and hand-ground spices. If Marqués de Riscal declared that their 1938 vintage contained 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, this bottling cannot be far behind. How this grape can behave this way so far from the gravels of the Médoc is beyond our understanding. An entirely improbable red, from a wretched era and a tragic vintage rife with "picaresque" history, which has nonetheless left us a handful of immortal wines.

 

Personal Score: 99
Tasting Group Score: 99