Viña Real 1950 Gran Reserva

Wine: Viña Real 1950 Gran Reserva

Winery: CVNE - Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España (Haro, La Rioja)
Appellation / Zone: D.O.Ca. Rioja
Varietals: 70% Tempranillo, 25% Garnacha, 5% Mazuelo and Viura.
ABV: 13% vol.

Winemaking

Extensive aging in ancient wooden vats until the completion of malolactic fermentation, followed by settling in the same vessels before wood aging. The wine matured for a minimum of 10 years (specific winery data unavailable) in used 225-liter American oak barrels. Unfiltered. Bottled between 1962 and 1964. Depending on the vintage, it rested between 48 and 100 months in the winery’s underground bottle racks.

 

Tasting Notes

 

Appearance: Garnet-ruby color with medium-high depth; highly extracted, opaque, and with subdued brilliance. It displays matte, reddish reflections. The rim is minimal and orange. A clear sense of density and "crasitud" (viscosity), forming enormous, persistent tears. (Note: Bottle presumably recorked in the mid-1980s; cork was elastic and in pristine condition).

 

Nose: Surprising for its resemblance to the Monopole whites of the 40s and 50s, carrying a brutal load of balsamic and reductive notes. It opens with a heavy perfume of dried herbs (lavender, sage), herbal infusions, chamomile stems, fennel, and chives, quickly shifting into wilder, muddier territories: sandalwood, camphor, ointment, and old attics. As powerful as it is challenging. After an hour of aeration, it begins a very slow evolution. Hints of black tea, toast, dried orange peel, cloves, and chewing tobacco emerge. Re-tasted the following day, the wine had "resurrected" into a red of absolute purity—perfumed and stripped of all artifice. It distills aromas of wilted roses, candied cherries, strawberry tree fruit, and an elegant backdrop of aromatic coffee. Youthful, clean, and full of truth.

 

Palate: A monumental wine, perfectly assembled. Fresh, fluid, and silky, featuring pure velvet tannins while maintaining the generosity and breadth characteristic of Viña Real. It will hold its ground for many years thanks to an acidity that makes it levitate over the palate. Everything else remains compressed in that surge of life. A wine with no other choice but to continue improving in the future.

 

Commentary

The 1950 Gran Reserva is a masterpiece of longevity. Its ability to "resurrect" after 24 hours of aeration proves its staggering structural integrity and depth. It represents a bridge between the balsamic intensity of historic whites and the soulful, fruit-driven elegance of the finest Alavesa reds. A wine that defies time and leaves one wishing to revisit it upon its centennial.

 

Personal Score: 99
Tasting Group Average: 99