A very good bottle of this wine, and while it’s not as breathtaking as the Vina Real of 1966 can be, this still has a lot to offer. Mushroom, aged soy sauce, iron, and dried cherry on the palate and a haunting, beautiful, umami-laden nose. Still retains some ruby red at the core with a fair bit of bricking. No way I would guess this as a fifty-plus year old wine.
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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: Corked.
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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: Corked unfortunately, would have loved to compare to the 1964 head to head…
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2/5/2022 - BillBell73 Likes this wine:
A very good bottle of this wine, and while it’s not as breathtaking as the Vina Real of 1966 can be, this still has a lot to offer. Mushroom, aged soy sauce, iron, and dried cherry on the palate and a haunting, beautiful, umami-laden nose. Still retains some ruby red at the core with a fair bit of bricking. No way I would guess this as a fifty-plus year old wine.
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1/21/2022 - jimcopland wrote: flawed
Madeirized
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11/29/2021 - Cailles wrote: flawed
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: Corked.
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10/27/2021 - sirpat00 wrote: flawed
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:
Corked unfortunately, would have loved to compare to the 1964 head to head…
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9/10/2021 - Nanda wrote: 90 Points
Acker Auction BYO (Craft NYC): Minty, herb, clay and earthy, mature red cherry aromas. A bit austere on the palate with fruit receding.
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