1998 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Imperial Gran Reserva

Community Tasting Notes (31) Avg Score: 90.9 points

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  1/20/2022 - J Pas Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Still drinking nicely. Balanced Rioja at peak

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  11/27/2021 - forceberry wrote: 88 Points

  Typically a blend of Tempranillo (85%), Mazuelo (10%) and Graciano (5%). Aged for 24 months in a mixture of American and French oak barriques and for a further 48 months in bottles before release. 13% alcohol.
  
  Moderately translucent and somewhat evolved pomegranate red with a slightly tertiary maroon hue and a thin, pale rim. The nose feels expressive and stylistically very Rioja with its rich aromas of sweet dark berries and vanilla oak, some pruney notes, a little bit of dill, light creamy or even buttery notes of diacetyl, a hint of blackcurrant jam and a tertiary touch of beef jerky. The wine is dry, dense and medium-bodied with a moderately diacetyl-driven taste, led by a somewhat noticeable streak of melted butter, followed by notes of juicy dark plums and ripe blackcurrants, some blueberry tones, a little bit of creamy oak and vanilla, light tertiary notes of earth and beef jerky, a hint of dill and a touch of cherry. The tannins feel ample and they slowly coat your gums, but they feel very ripe and resolved, not really making the wine feel tough or grippy; the structure mostly relies on the high acidity as the tannins mainly contribute to the texture of the wine. The finish is long, rich and juicy with somewhat evolved flavors of buttery diacetyl, some blueberry tones, a little bit of wizened dark plums, light strawberry notes, oaky hints of vanilla and dill and a developed touch of beef jerky.
  
  A quite evolved and surprisingly buttery Rioja Gran Reserva. It's perfectly plausible that this was just an off bottle - but then again it might be that people translate that diacetyl character into sweetness, seeing how many TNs in CT describe the flavors of the wine as sweet or even jammy, whereas I found the wine quite dry, fresh and crunchy with high acidity and no obvious ripe-fruited sweetness. I guess I need to re-taste this wine somewhere again just to see if all the bottles show that same diacetyl character, or if we just had an aberrant bottle. Other than that creamy/buttery diacetyl character, this was an enjoyable Rioja - albeit surprisingly mature in its taste. I would've expected a Rioja Gran Reserva to be capable of aging much longer than 20-25 years and I was surprised how tertiary and at times even slightly oxidative this wine was. Good stuff, but nothing spectacular.

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  5/20/2018 - Paul D Likes this wine: 92 Points

  2/2, good cork, decanted 1/2 hr. # 515,528. Served at 16C.
  Medium garnet core, pale garnet/mahogany rim. Nose is now quite developed showing red fruit, spice, touch of dill and soil. Quite rich and sensuous as it warms. Medium bodied, spicy red fruit, vanilla, soft/silky tannins, fresh acidity, long and expansive finish with some caramel notes. Drinking quite well but probably still with some improvement/complexity to come.

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  5/9/2018 - Tannatastic Likes this wine: 94 Points

  At peak.
  
  Garnet core with plenty of bricking heading out towards the rim.
  
  Strawberries, blackcurrant, cigar box, cedar, touch of dill (and a mere hint of vanilla sweetness) from the oak, with a tease of of spiciness on the finish. Less prominent aromas of cigar ash (or perhaps extinguished cigar?) and cocoa nibs.
  
  Wonderfully mid-weight and elegant. When Rioja is done this well, for value it beats all-comers hands down with one hand tied behind it's back .
  
  Simply stunning at the moment, and comfortably good for at least another decade (or more, depending on your preference).

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  10/1/2017 - andrew@carvedras.co.uk wrote: 92 Points

  Decided to decant the wine first, good idea as the sediment was quite heavy.
  A warm and medium brown rim on the wine edge, a sweet nose with vanilla and soft jams.
  The initial taste showed sweetness on the jam aspect of the wine, thinner than I had expected but that was a plus as it allowed a greater disclosure of the underlying subtleties. Faint tannins support a still rich but gentle fruit blend. The mid palate held together with a nice acidic balance which I guess hints at how well made the wine was. The length was consistent and quite lengthy with a very gently fade. This was the '98 and I have the '99 still to go...
  The whole experience confirms my belief that given a limited amount of money, old Spanish Rioja especially the Gran Reservas hit the spot against most comers.

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