CVNE (Cuné)
Overview
Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España, universally known as Cuné, is one of the oldest and most prestigious bodegas in Rioja, founded in Haro in 1879 by brothers Raimundo and Eusebío Real de Asúa. The estate is predated in the region only by Marqués de Riscal (1860), Marqués de Murrieta (1872), and López de Heredia (1877). Run today by Victor Urrutia Ybarra (fifth generation, Managing Director since 2003). A landmark of its cellars: the barrel-aging facility completed in 1899 by the architect Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel — the same engineer who completed the Eiffel Tower a decade earlier.
Appellations
- Rioja Alta — Imperial Gran Reserva and Imperial Reserva; vineyards in Briones, Torremontalbo, and Villaba de Rioja only
- Rioja Alavesa — Viña Real Gran Reserva, Reserva, and Crianza
Key Wines
Imperial Gran Reserva (flagship; Rioja Alta only)
- Vineyard sources: exclusively Briones (500m elevation, bush vines, sand/clay soils), Torremontalbo (420m, bush vines, chalky soils — warmest of the three), and Villaba de Rioja (570–600m, trellised vines, chalky/sandy, coolest and windswept)
- Only Reserva and Gran Reserva bottlings produced
- Modern cépages: ~85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano, 5% Mazuelo
- Historical cépages (through 1980s): ~40% Tempranillo, 40% Garnacha, 20% Graciano + Mazuelo
- Fermentation: in oak Tinas (since 2000; previously cement through the 1980s/1990s)
- Current barrel aging: ~2.5 years in cask, 80–90% French oak (50% new), 10–20% American oak; 10-year barrel rotation otherwise. Historical aging was far longer (1947 vintage bottled in August 1960 — nearly 13 years in cask)
- Minimum legal: 2 years cask + 3 years bottle before release; Cuné always exceeds this
Viña Real (flagship; Rioja Alavesa only)
- Fermented in stainless steel + concrete; Reserva, Gran Reserva, and Crianza levels
- Historically preferred in the US market over Imperial; now Imperial slightly more valued at auction
Cellar Master: María Larrea Quemada (since 2005; joined in the early 1990s)
Style Notes
Imperial Gran Reserva is one of the most consistent and age-worthy wines in all of Spain. Gilman’s vertical back to 1947 confirms the style is remarkably stable across more than 70 years of releases — extraordinary for any wine region. The hallmark aromatic profile: black cherries, Cuban cigar wrapper, nutmeg, Rioja spice, chalky dark soil, cedary oak (from French barrels) with traces of American oak toasted coconut in older vintages. With age: dried fruits, nutskin, caramel, lavender. All of the great older bottles remain vibrant and energetic.
Key observations from Gilman’s October 2025 vertical tasting:
- Garnacha’s diminishing role reflects both climate change (it over-ripens in small barrels) and a deliberate style evolution; Victor Urrutia notes it happened organically rather than by policy
- The 2018 is “one of my favorite vintages of this bottling in the last dozen years or more” (cooler, most elegant recent vintage)
- 1950s: “If there has ever been a greater decade in the history of this great estate, I am unaware of it” (1954 was a favorite of the evening)
- 1947: served brilliantly at age 78; the wine didn’t reach bottle until August 1960 (13 years in cask)
Vertical Tasting Notes (VFTC #120 — October 2025 Tasting with Victor Urrutia)
| Vintage | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 95 | New release; coolest recent vintage; black cherries, nutmeg, cigar, cedary oak; 14.1%; drink 2033–2085+ |
| 2016 | 94+ | 14%; still needs a few years; cassis, spice, dark soil; drink 2028–2075+ |
| 2015 | 92+ | 14.5%; touch riper; slight backend heat; drink 2032–2085 |
| 2014 | 94+ | Elegant; black raspberries, cigar, soil, spice; suave tannins; drink 2026–2075 |
| 2012 | 94 | Classic; 13.3%; closed but more refined than 2015; needs a few more years; drink 2028–2085 |
| 2011 | 94 | ”Epitome of a classic example”; 13.45%; just blossoming; decades ahead; drink 2025–2085 |
| 2010 | 92 | Possible sub-par bottle; lower acid impression; drink 2030–2085 |
| 2009 | 94 | Hot vintage but elegant; 13.8%; “just starting to drink well”; 40–50 years ahead; drink 2025–2075 |
| 2004 | 94 | 13.8%; 21 years old; starting to drink well; refined, chalky, nutty; drink 2025–2075+ |
| 1994 | — | Imperfect bottle; no score |
| 1988 | 92 | Last vintage of old 40/40 cépages; 37 years old; at apogee; American oak coconut tones; drink 2025–2055 |
| 1981 | 95 | ”Stellar vintage”; classic 1981; beautiful, velvety; drink 2022–2065 |
| 1973 | 95 | ”One of my favorites for Imperial”; at apogee; perfumed, velvety; drink 2022–2055 |
| 1970 | 93 | 40/40 cépages; ~13%; velvety, suave; drink 2025–2055+ |
| 1968 | 93 | Cool/drought year; 75% Tempranillo (earlier transition); at peak; drink 2023–2055 |
| 1966 | 93 | ”Singing” bottle; 12.7%; American oak coconut; at apogee; drink 2025–2050 |
| 1954 | 97 | ”One of the finest vintages of Imperial I have ever had the pleasure to taste”; celestial; 1950s “greatest decade” |
| 1947 | 95 | 12.4% alcohol (!); 40/40 cépages; bottled August 1960; stunning at 78 years; drink 2025–2060 |
My Tastings
(none yet)
Sources
sources/articles/VFTC/VFTC Nov-Dec 2025 #120.txt— “Tasting Cuné’s Magical Rioja Imperial” (pages 88–97): full history, methodology, cépages evolution, vertical notes 1947–2018