Izzy Nosnik was in from Chicago and that was cause for celebration. Izzy loves his old Rioja and still had a bottle of '44 Vina Real languishing in the cellar that we were supposed to drink when I visited the Windy City in October, but those plans were thwarted when Hurricane Sandy prompted my earlier than scheduled exit on one of the last flights back into New York. It was decided that a Vina Real vertical was in order and with the theme set, Chris and Meredith Wilford offered to host and Bob Cunningham, Josh Leader, Greg Tatar and Greg dal Piaz rounded out the group.
Meredith and Chris did an outstanding job in the kitchen, serving course after course of delicious Spanish tapas-style dishes that worked wonderfully with the wines. Speaking of the wines, overall they performed well. The usual corked or variable bottles were accounted for, but there were some really terrific showings. The wines largely showed freshness and good fruit levels with the ability to age even further. Prices for older Rioja have spiked in the past couple of years, so while they still offer terrific value compared to aged Bordeaux and Burgundy, truly great deals on them are getting harder and harder to find. Luckily, there's a hardcore cadre of old Rioja aficionados locally, so finding these wines at dinner hasn't become too rare yet.
1978 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin- Champagne Vintage Rosé Cave Privée - France, Champagne
Izzy whipped this out to get the evening rolling. It's a deep salmon color with red fruit, red apple skins and nutty aromas. Pleasant enough on the palate, but showing its age. Evolved with strawberry, cherry, nut and earthy flavors. It shows freshness in the structure, but the fruit shows quit a bit of decay. Drink up. B.
1978 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)- Rioja Viña Real Gran Reserva - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Pretty tight at the onset and only started to get going just before the next flight was ready to be poured. It definitely would've benefited from decanting. Heavy swirling and the passage of time eventually saw fresh dark cherry flavors and aromas come up with a bit of beef blood, old wood and spice. It's tighter and a little darker in profile than the '76 that followed. Nicely balanced with solid acid levels. It would absolutely benefit from more time in the cellar, though it's certainly tasty now, but, again, decant. A-.
1976 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)- Rioja Viña Real Gran Reserva - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Effusive on the nose and forward on the palate with lush cherry, raw beef, blood, dried herbs and old wood flavors and aromas. The wine possesses a beautiful core of fruit and shows solid acid levels with just a touch of drying on the sides. More outgoing and flamboyant than the '78 and just a tad less rich than the '70 and it lacks that wine's thicker texture. Drinking at peak, imo, but there's no hurry here as the structure still shows some fortitude. Solid A-.
1973 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)- Rioja Viña Real Gran Reserva - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Corked. NR (flawed)
1970 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Viña Real Gran Reserva - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Probably the best bottle of this that I've had. The wine was just singing. Forward and laying all its cards on the table, there's a beautiful richness and thickness to the texture that none of the other wines showed, but it also showed beautiful harmony and elegance. That said, it seemed clear that this was the most resolved wine of the night and seemed to lack the aging potential of most of the other wines given its comparatively low acidity. Loads of sweet cherry fruit to be found here with spicy old wood, blood and worn leather recliner. Just a classic old Rioja profile, save for a little less citrusy acidic snap on the finish. Beautiful and my WOTN. A/A-.
1968 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)- Rioja Viña Real Gran Reserva - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Corked. NR (flawed)
1962 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)- Rioja Viña Real Reserva Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
I may have been in the minority on this one as while I found it quite good, I wasn't as impressed with it as others seemed to be, but this bottle was fighting the memory of a number of other bottles I've had in the past that showed much better. In fact, the '62 has been on my short list of favorite C.V.N.E. It shows an intriguing nose of sour cherries, dusty earth and worn wood with an intense smoked paprika note. I originally thought it was the dish that Meredith had just served, which was heavy on the paprika, but then everyone else started commenting on it, too. Similar flavors as aromas, though the wine is a bit lean and drying and more fragile than other bottles that I've had. It's always shown a rather Burgundian profile, but I'm used to seeing more fruit in this wine. Solid B+.
1952 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)- Rioja Viña Real Reserva Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
My expectations were pretty high for this one as I had been told by a couple of people what a great wine the '52 was, but while a solid showing, this bottle didn't fully live up to the hype. It showed better at the onset, when there was some nice cherry fruit present, but it was ephemeral and the wine flattened out rather quickly. High acid and a touch austere with a strong and pleasing coffee grounds note and the usual earth, leather and worn wood. Low B+.
1949 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)- Rioja Viña Real Reserva Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
A pristine bottle that Josh had purchased at the winery, it showed beautifully. Even at 64 years of age, it really would've benefited from a serious decant as it took awhile for the wine to get going and it kept building and filling in throughout the evening. It shows the most complex nose of all the wines with its wet earth, licorice, dill, dried herb and old wood aromas. On the palate the wine shows remarkable freshness and vitality, though it's flavors were mostly secondary in nature with little fruit showing, but displaying plenty of earth, dried herbs, licorice and leather. The highlight of the wine was the seamless quality, the wonderful elegance to the mouthfeel and perfect balance. Just dreamy. With air a little bit of cherry fruit came up and one gets the sense that with more time, the fruit would've filled in even more. What a treat! Solid A-.
1944 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)- Rioja Viña Real Reserva Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Perhaps the most controversial bottle of the evening as the group seemed split as to whether it showed a little heat damage, or not. I thought it did show damage, but at the same time, the wine still did offer pleasure. It revealed old wine sweetness with a distinct halva (dried sesame paste and sugar) character, with faint cherry and herb flavors and aromas, but it also showed a distinct beef broth note, that, when combined with the clipped finish clearly indicated some heat damage. The wine did fill in a bit and sweetened up with air, but it was fleeting. The finish remained short and eventually started to show increasing austerity. Still, for a wine this old and of questionable provenance, it showed pretty well. Low B.
1985 Fonseca- Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
At age twenty-eight it's starting to lose some of the brashness it showed up until even a few years ago and exhibits a more harmonious and tempered palate presence. While there's still plenty of youthful black fruit, it's not as full throttle blackberry as it used to be as more mature cherry tones have started to creep in. Plenty of sweet baker's spices and chocolate, but they're more mellow and there's now a fig character that's a part of the picture. Plenty sweet, but balanced and the spirit is nicely contained. A/A-.
Some pictures from the evening.
The group
The wines.
Bob aerates his glass of '78 as Izzy looks on intently.
Chris and Meredith prep the lamb skewers.
Peppadew peppers stuffed with sweet sausage.
Shishito peppers getting blistered.
Ready for snacking.
Jamon Iberico with tomato.
Tortilla with potato, onion and chorizo.
Gambas!
Lamb skewers.
Frisee salad with orange and mint.
Marinated Pork W/ Saffron Honey and Orange with Sauteed Spinach/Bacon/Crimini and Manchego and Potatoes Bravas w/ Homemade Aioli.
Dessert.
Meredith and Chris did an outstanding job in the kitchen, serving course after course of delicious Spanish tapas-style dishes that worked wonderfully with the wines. Speaking of the wines, overall they performed well. The usual corked or variable bottles were accounted for, but there were some really terrific showings. The wines largely showed freshness and good fruit levels with the ability to age even further. Prices for older Rioja have spiked in the past couple of years, so while they still offer terrific value compared to aged Bordeaux and Burgundy, truly great deals on them are getting harder and harder to find. Luckily, there's a hardcore cadre of old Rioja aficionados locally, so finding these wines at dinner hasn't become too rare yet.
1978 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin- Champagne Vintage Rosé Cave Privée - France, Champagne
Izzy whipped this out to get the evening rolling. It's a deep salmon color with red fruit, red apple skins and nutty aromas. Pleasant enough on the palate, but showing its age. Evolved with strawberry, cherry, nut and earthy flavors. It shows freshness in the structure, but the fruit shows quit a bit of decay. Drink up. B.
1978 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)- Rioja Viña Real Gran Reserva - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Pretty tight at the onset and only started to get going just before the next flight was ready to be poured. It definitely would've benefited from decanting. Heavy swirling and the passage of time eventually saw fresh dark cherry flavors and aromas come up with a bit of beef blood, old wood and spice. It's tighter and a little darker in profile than the '76 that followed. Nicely balanced with solid acid levels. It would absolutely benefit from more time in the cellar, though it's certainly tasty now, but, again, decant. A-.
1976 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)- Rioja Viña Real Gran Reserva - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Effusive on the nose and forward on the palate with lush cherry, raw beef, blood, dried herbs and old wood flavors and aromas. The wine possesses a beautiful core of fruit and shows solid acid levels with just a touch of drying on the sides. More outgoing and flamboyant than the '78 and just a tad less rich than the '70 and it lacks that wine's thicker texture. Drinking at peak, imo, but there's no hurry here as the structure still shows some fortitude. Solid A-.
1973 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)- Rioja Viña Real Gran Reserva - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Corked. NR (flawed)
1970 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Viña Real Gran Reserva - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Probably the best bottle of this that I've had. The wine was just singing. Forward and laying all its cards on the table, there's a beautiful richness and thickness to the texture that none of the other wines showed, but it also showed beautiful harmony and elegance. That said, it seemed clear that this was the most resolved wine of the night and seemed to lack the aging potential of most of the other wines given its comparatively low acidity. Loads of sweet cherry fruit to be found here with spicy old wood, blood and worn leather recliner. Just a classic old Rioja profile, save for a little less citrusy acidic snap on the finish. Beautiful and my WOTN. A/A-.
1968 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)- Rioja Viña Real Gran Reserva - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Corked. NR (flawed)
1962 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)- Rioja Viña Real Reserva Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
I may have been in the minority on this one as while I found it quite good, I wasn't as impressed with it as others seemed to be, but this bottle was fighting the memory of a number of other bottles I've had in the past that showed much better. In fact, the '62 has been on my short list of favorite C.V.N.E. It shows an intriguing nose of sour cherries, dusty earth and worn wood with an intense smoked paprika note. I originally thought it was the dish that Meredith had just served, which was heavy on the paprika, but then everyone else started commenting on it, too. Similar flavors as aromas, though the wine is a bit lean and drying and more fragile than other bottles that I've had. It's always shown a rather Burgundian profile, but I'm used to seeing more fruit in this wine. Solid B+.
1952 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)- Rioja Viña Real Reserva Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
My expectations were pretty high for this one as I had been told by a couple of people what a great wine the '52 was, but while a solid showing, this bottle didn't fully live up to the hype. It showed better at the onset, when there was some nice cherry fruit present, but it was ephemeral and the wine flattened out rather quickly. High acid and a touch austere with a strong and pleasing coffee grounds note and the usual earth, leather and worn wood. Low B+.
1949 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)- Rioja Viña Real Reserva Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
A pristine bottle that Josh had purchased at the winery, it showed beautifully. Even at 64 years of age, it really would've benefited from a serious decant as it took awhile for the wine to get going and it kept building and filling in throughout the evening. It shows the most complex nose of all the wines with its wet earth, licorice, dill, dried herb and old wood aromas. On the palate the wine shows remarkable freshness and vitality, though it's flavors were mostly secondary in nature with little fruit showing, but displaying plenty of earth, dried herbs, licorice and leather. The highlight of the wine was the seamless quality, the wonderful elegance to the mouthfeel and perfect balance. Just dreamy. With air a little bit of cherry fruit came up and one gets the sense that with more time, the fruit would've filled in even more. What a treat! Solid A-.
1944 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)- Rioja Viña Real Reserva Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Perhaps the most controversial bottle of the evening as the group seemed split as to whether it showed a little heat damage, or not. I thought it did show damage, but at the same time, the wine still did offer pleasure. It revealed old wine sweetness with a distinct halva (dried sesame paste and sugar) character, with faint cherry and herb flavors and aromas, but it also showed a distinct beef broth note, that, when combined with the clipped finish clearly indicated some heat damage. The wine did fill in a bit and sweetened up with air, but it was fleeting. The finish remained short and eventually started to show increasing austerity. Still, for a wine this old and of questionable provenance, it showed pretty well. Low B.
1985 Fonseca- Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
At age twenty-eight it's starting to lose some of the brashness it showed up until even a few years ago and exhibits a more harmonious and tempered palate presence. While there's still plenty of youthful black fruit, it's not as full throttle blackberry as it used to be as more mature cherry tones have started to creep in. Plenty of sweet baker's spices and chocolate, but they're more mellow and there's now a fig character that's a part of the picture. Plenty sweet, but balanced and the spirit is nicely contained. A/A-.
Some pictures from the evening.
The group
The wines.
Bob aerates his glass of '78 as Izzy looks on intently.
Chris and Meredith prep the lamb skewers.
Peppadew peppers stuffed with sweet sausage.
Shishito peppers getting blistered.
Ready for snacking.
Jamon Iberico with tomato.
Tortilla with potato, onion and chorizo.
Gambas!
Lamb skewers.
Frisee salad with orange and mint.
Marinated Pork W/ Saffron Honey and Orange with Sauteed Spinach/Bacon/Crimini and Manchego and Potatoes Bravas w/ Homemade Aioli.
Dessert.