Cune has been making wine in Rioja since the 1870s, and the Gran Reserva is the house's most patient bottle. It comes from the Rioja DOCa, the region's highest tier, where Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo grow together on the calcareous hills above the Ebro river.
- Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo, the classic Rioja blend.
- Rioja DOCa, Spain's oldest qualified wine region.
- 2015, a warm, dry vintage in Rioja.
- 13.5% ABV, medium body, medium tannin.
- Gran Reserva, the appellation's longest ageing tier.
How it is made
Gran Reserva is a legal category, not a marketing word. Rioja rules require the wine to spend at least two years in barrel and three in bottle before release, so a 2015 Gran Reserva is only now reaching the list. The grapes are picked ripe and the ageing is slow, which softens the tannin and deepens the colour.
How it tastes
Dried cherry and leather first, then tobacco and a thread of vanilla from the oak. The tannins are firm but already rounded by time, and the acidity stays medium and steady through a long finish. Dry, savoury and built to sit in the glass.
Where it comes from
Rioja sits in northern Spain, sheltered by the Sierra Cantabria from Atlantic weather and warmed by the Ebro valley. Tempranillo does best on the limestone and clay soils of the higher ground, and it is the grape that gives Rioja its red fruit and its grip.
Good to know
Rioja classifies its wines by ageing, not by vineyard: Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva. The Gran Reserva tier is only declared in vintages the region considers good enough, which is why it does not appear every year.
