2022 | CVNE Rioja "Real de Asúa" | Rioja | Spain

A single-vineyard Rioja icon that now trades on La Place de Bordeaux — 100% Tempranillo, just 12,000 bottles.

CVNE has been one of Rioja's defining houses since 1879, when the Real de Asúa brothers founded it in Haro. This wine — named in their honor — changed in 2018 to become a single-vineyard bottling: 100% Tempranillo from the Carromaza plot in Villalba, Rioja Alta. Native-yeast fermentation, malolactic and 12 months in French oak; only 12,000 bottles made. In 2019 it earned a place on La Place de Bordeaux, Spanish wine among the world's elite.

A single-vineyard, low-production Rioja of this pedigree is a rare thing to find well-priced. Rated 97 points, and a triumph in a challenging vintage → the La Place wines it now sits beside cost far more → at $162.99 you're buying one of Spain's benchmark single-vineyard reds.

• 100% Tempranillo, single-vineyard Carromaza (Villalba, Rioja Alta)
• Native-yeast ferment; 12 months in French oak barriques
• Only 12,000 bottles; on La Place de Bordeaux since 2019
• CVNE, founded 1879 in Haro — five generations

"Serious, harmonious, insinuating and nuanced… flowers and spices, hints of pine cones and wild herbs." Translation: plum and cherry over subtle oak, ultra-fine tannins and a long, fruit-laden finish — graceful Rioja of real depth.

Single-vineyard Tempranillo from a five-generation house, in tiny quantity, at a fraction of its La Place peers. Exactly how you put a modern Rioja landmark in the cellar.