(The second half of yesterday's bottle.) Feels much deeper and plummier on the nose, along with some fresh blackberries and apple. Rich and full on the palate. This has definitely blossomed after 24 hours in the eto. Those rather odd notes of things like lipstick have faded and given way to much more of a beast of a Rioja. No way would I guess at this being 60 years old. Very together, with good fruit, yet also a lovely elegance. Maybe there are a few secondary (or do I mean tertiary?) notes that fleetingly appear.
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A real battle with the cork, which was at the same time very crumbly, put also very well sealed in the neck. Quite fine sediment. Immediately the wine gets to the outside world, there's some promising black fruit. Then there's some secondary elevated notes and a touch of muddiness. Good colour. Excellent palate. Alive and definitely kicking. Very elegant and soft with just a suggestion of tannins remaining. Some sweet cherry fruit comes randomly along. Equally randomly a touch of lipstick. Feels a bit simple, as tasty as it is. I'm at that stage wondering whether it needs some vigorous aeration to wake it up, of whether any great aeration would send it to its grave. I suspect the former. Not drinking the whole bottle tonight, so fingers crossed for tomorrow. But it is very impressive.
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This needed a bit of time to open up but then presented itself with a beautifully sweet and dense nose with lots of herbs and ripe fresh and cured fruit. Very long finish.
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11x Mature Rioja (1928-1999): Three CVNEs from the 1960s tasted side by side. I’ve had amazing experiences with 60s wines from this winery before including a perfect 100 pts experience with a magical bottle of the 1964 Vina Real Gran Reserva a year ago. Hence, expectations for this series were quite high and that’s why the disappointment was immense with two out of three bottles showing faulty or dead. The 1962 Vina Real Gran Reserva (NR) was completely dead, well past its prime (probably a faulty cork as provenance was impeccable). The 1966 Imperial Gran Reserva (NR) was unfortunately corked. Fortunately, the 1966 Vina Real Gran Reserva (rated 94 pts) was singing and one of the wines of the night thanks to a lot of substance, sexiness, precision and tension. Like my 100 pts experience with the Vina Real from the same vintage, this needed time and got better by the minute. Despite to flawed bottles, I still think these old CVNEs are worth any search.
TN: At first, this seemed a bit simple with just a bit of fresh ripe fruit and some not well defined tertiary notes showing on the nose and palate but with every minute and every swirl the wine got stronger and stronger, gaining weight and aromatic complexity and improving precision. Expressive nose with fresh dark forest berries, some sweet honey notes, herbs, leather and minerality. Same aroma profile with a tad more earthy and minerality notes as well as tobacco and more leather on the palate but still with this beautiful fresh fruit core that creates this wonderful balance and freshness. Good precision. Fine structure with melted tannins, high and well-integrated acidity, nicely creamy texture with builds more over time and a good, long finish. I’m quite certain that this would have reached the 95+ pts category if I would have had more time to follow it.
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Old Rioja tasting: Old Rioja tasting, privately organized. Even though 3 out of 11 bottles were flawed, the tasting was once more testament to the outstanding ageability of Rioja. While clearly not a representative sample, the Tondonias were all intact while 2 out of 3 CVNEs were flawed. That said, where the one that was still intact (1964) easily beat the Tondonia. The WOTN was neither, however, but a Paternina from 1928 (95).
Tasting note: Pretty aged and already quite advanced, but showing nice fresh berry fruit, hints of medicinal notes and an array of fine aging aromas. Palate was maybe a bit thin as the main point of criticism, otherwise largely dominated by aging notes. This was detailed and finessed and in my view at least a couple of notches better than the Tondonia from the same vintage.
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Abierto a la vez junto a un Viña Real Gran Reserva 1964.Color atejado de capa media, más tupido que el Viña Real.Mentolados, alcanfor, serio, notas sanguíneas, más serio que el Viña Real, menos jovial pero muy complejo. Sotobosque, humedad. Tanino presente, todavía secante, licoroso, largo hasta la saciedad. Dulcón.
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Tasted blind. This bottle was in fantastic shape! Super interesting nose of dark fruit, chocolate, a hint of vanilla and smoke, and just a tiny bit of soy sauce. Nice acidity on the palate with more of the dark fruit notes, iron, mint, and dark cherries. Long finish. Excellent wine! 94-95
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This was drinking just about perfectly. Usually I feel like there's more effort required to get Rioja to the right spot, but this was a pnp and it was drinking excellently from the beginning.
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Dinner at Osteria Langhe (Chicago, IL): I was convinced this was lightly corked, but no one else at the table seemed to think so. In any case, this wasn't a great bottle, as the palate was metallic, tinny, and thin.
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A questionable cork without great seal, but with a good deal of effort it came out in one piece. Funky. Some classic notes on the nose, but it's hollow, and a bit dirty on the finish. Acid. Disappointing.
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Elegant coffee nose, pretty rough on the palate for a 64, but good red fruit still, balanced. Drink now, but will keep for 10-20 more years. 92-93 points.
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Half. Quite deep and full. A deep garnet. Darker-fruited on the nose with plenty of roast coffee bean. Similar on attack, quite full and fleshy. Nose shows a little orange peel, but this one is more in the savoury spectrum with beef tea aromas coming and going. There is a faint hint of the chocolatey VA spoilage that got the 59 VR, but in isolation it just adds a little complexity. Not as good as a previous full bottle, and shaded by the 64 VR, but very good nonetheless. ****
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Mid garnet. Lovely old nose of leather and spice with a sweeter, almost floral, top note. Starts to show orange peel after 20mins or so. Silky smooth, lovely weight on the mid-palate through to a pretty long finish. Lovely core of sweet fruit and amazingly vigorous still for its age. A treat. *****
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3/27/2024 - andrewstevenson.com wrote: 95 Points
(The second half of yesterday's bottle.)
Feels much deeper and plummier on the nose, along with some fresh blackberries and apple.
Rich and full on the palate.
This has definitely blossomed after 24 hours in the eto. Those rather odd notes of things like lipstick have faded and given way to much more of a beast of a Rioja. No way would I guess at this being 60 years old. Very together, with good fruit, yet also a lovely elegance. Maybe there are a few secondary (or do I mean tertiary?) notes that fleetingly appear.
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3/26/2024 - andrewstevenson.com wrote: 94 Points
A real battle with the cork, which was at the same time very crumbly, put also very well sealed in the neck.
Quite fine sediment.
Immediately the wine gets to the outside world, there's some promising black fruit. Then there's some secondary elevated notes and a touch of muddiness.
Good colour.
Excellent palate. Alive and definitely kicking. Very elegant and soft with just a suggestion of tannins remaining. Some sweet cherry fruit comes randomly along. Equally randomly a touch of lipstick.
Feels a bit simple, as tasty as it is. I'm at that stage wondering whether it needs some vigorous aeration to wake it up, of whether any great aeration would send it to its grave. I suspect the former. Not drinking the whole bottle tonight, so fingers crossed for tomorrow.
But it is very impressive.
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11/29/2021 - G_H wrote: 95 Points
This needed a bit of time to open up but then presented itself with a beautifully sweet and dense nose with lots of herbs and ripe fresh and cured fruit. Very long finish.
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11/29/2021 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points
11x Mature Rioja (1928-1999): Three CVNEs from the 1960s tasted side by side. I’ve had amazing experiences with 60s wines from this winery before including a perfect 100 pts experience with a magical bottle of the 1964 Vina Real Gran Reserva a year ago. Hence, expectations for this series were quite high and that’s why the disappointment was immense with two out of three bottles showing faulty or dead. The 1962 Vina Real Gran Reserva (NR) was completely dead, well past its prime (probably a faulty cork as provenance was impeccable). The 1966 Imperial Gran Reserva (NR) was unfortunately corked. Fortunately, the 1966 Vina Real Gran Reserva (rated 94 pts) was singing and one of the wines of the night thanks to a lot of substance, sexiness, precision and tension. Like my 100 pts experience with the Vina Real from the same vintage, this needed time and got better by the minute. Despite to flawed bottles, I still think these old CVNEs are worth any search.
TN: At first, this seemed a bit simple with just a bit of fresh ripe fruit and some not well defined tertiary notes showing on the nose and palate but with every minute and every swirl the wine got stronger and stronger, gaining weight and aromatic complexity and improving precision. Expressive nose with fresh dark forest berries, some sweet honey notes, herbs, leather and minerality. Same aroma profile with a tad more earthy and minerality notes as well as tobacco and more leather on the palate but still with this beautiful fresh fruit core that creates this wonderful balance and freshness. Good precision. Fine structure with melted tannins, high and well-integrated acidity, nicely creamy texture with builds more over time and a good, long finish. I’m quite certain that this would have reached the 95+ pts category if I would have had more time to follow it.
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10/27/2021 - sirpat00 wrote: 94 Points
Old Rioja tasting: Old Rioja tasting, privately organized. Even though 3 out of 11 bottles were flawed, the tasting was once more testament to the outstanding ageability of Rioja. While clearly not a representative sample, the Tondonias were all intact while 2 out of 3 CVNEs were flawed. That said, where the one that was still intact (1964) easily beat the Tondonia. The WOTN was neither, however, but a Paternina from 1928 (95).
Tasting note:
Pretty aged and already quite advanced, but showing nice fresh berry fruit, hints of medicinal notes and an array of fine aging aromas. Palate was maybe a bit thin as the main point of criticism, otherwise largely dominated by aging notes. This was detailed and finessed and in my view at least a couple of notches better than the Tondonia from the same vintage.
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5/12/2021 - Tree512 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lively and long with plummy fruit but no oxidation. Good acidity, great color, tannins are long gone, but in great shape.
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4/19/2021 - GonzaloManzaneda wrote: 95 Points
Abierto a la vez junto a un Viña Real Gran Reserva 1964.Color atejado de capa media, más tupido que el Viña Real.Mentolados, alcanfor, serio, notas sanguíneas, más serio que el Viña Real, menos jovial pero muy complejo. Sotobosque, humedad. Tanino presente, todavía secante, licoroso, largo hasta la saciedad. Dulcón.
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3/7/2021 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 94 Points
Tasted blind. This bottle was in fantastic shape! Super interesting nose of dark fruit, chocolate, a hint of vanilla and smoke, and just a tiny bit of soy sauce. Nice acidity on the palate with more of the dark fruit notes, iron, mint, and dark cherries. Long finish. Excellent wine! 94-95
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2/16/2020 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
This was drinking just about perfectly. Usually I feel like there's more effort required to get Rioja to the right spot, but this was a pnp and it was drinking excellently from the beginning.
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2/12/2018 - acyso wrote: flawed
Dinner at Osteria Langhe (Chicago, IL): I was convinced this was lightly corked, but no one else at the table seemed to think so. In any case, this wasn't a great bottle, as the palate was metallic, tinny, and thin.
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2/12/2018 - psmith wrote: 85 Points
A questionable cork without great seal, but with a good deal of effort it came out in one piece. Funky. Some classic notes on the nose, but it's hollow, and a bit dirty on the finish. Acid. Disappointing.
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4/8/2016 - AMRS wrote: 92 Points
Elegant coffee nose, pretty rough on the palate for a 64, but good red fruit still, balanced. Drink now, but will keep for 10-20 more years. 92-93 points.
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3/19/2016 - Rani Likes this wine: 94 Points
Espresso nose. Super smooth with tons of black and red friut. Forest floor, really good length, super fine tannins.
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12/12/2015 - SimonG wrote: 93 Points
Half. Quite deep and full. A deep garnet. Darker-fruited on the nose with plenty of roast coffee bean. Similar on attack, quite full and fleshy. Nose shows a little orange peel, but this one is more in the savoury spectrum with beef tea aromas coming and going. There is a faint hint of the chocolatey VA spoilage that got the 59 VR, but in isolation it just adds a little complexity. Not as good as a previous full bottle, and shaded by the 64 VR, but very good nonetheless. ****
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11/25/2010 - SimonG wrote: 95 Points
Mid garnet. Lovely old nose of leather and spice with a sweeter, almost floral, top note. Starts to show orange peel after 20mins or so. Silky smooth, lovely weight on the mid-palate through to a pretty long finish. Lovely core of sweet fruit and amazingly vigorous still for its age. A treat. *****
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