2020 CVNE (Cune) Real de Asua Carromaza Rioja 750 ml

The 2020 Real de Asua Carromaza Rioja is one of the flagship bottles from Spanish producer CVNE (aka C.V.N.E., or Cune). The winery, which has been synonymous with Rioja since 1879, makes a wide range of wines, and this rarity sits near the top of the pyramid—and is seldom found in the States. 

Grown on a single two-hectare plot of 30-year-old Tempranillo vines, this is a rich, aromatic, ruby-red Rioja that earned a stunning 97 points from James Suckling. Only one 2020 Rioja scored higher!

The Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España is a pioneer in Rioja. They produced the first Spanish wine to earn the #1 spot on Wine Spectator’s Top 100, and they were the nation’s first winery to employ gravity-flow technology in the cellar. Decanter once called CVNE among Rioja’s “best producers.” Jancis Robinson included it in what she called “The Rioja Aristocracy,” and Spanish-wine expert Luis Gutierrez of Wine Advocate declared them “one of the great bodegas not only of Rioja, but of the whole of Spain.” 

The Real de Asúa hails from the Carromaza estate in Villalba, a Rioja Alta municipality located 600 meters above sea level. The Atlantic climate is cold and windy, but the vineyards are protected by the Sierra de Cantabria mountains, and the south-facing vines bask in as much sun as they can get. The grapes are double-selected, macerated and crushed, then gravity-fed into a small French wooden vat. Malolactic fermentation occurs in small French oak barrels, then the wine goes into new and single-fill barrels for aging. 

The result is a Rioja of stunning purity, and one that will repay a long stretch in the cellar.