Nothing quite prepares you for wine touring in northern
Spain’s La Rioja region. Not years of winery hopping all along California and
the Pacific Northwest to Mendoza, Argentina. Not even Italy and France, which have their share of winemaking quirkiness and peculiar centuries-old
traditions that somehow culminate in heavenly juice.
Old wine bottles in the cellars of CUNE winery in La Rioja,
Spain.
La Rioja is where mildew and modernism co-exist. By morning,
visitors can course through the city of Laguardia’s old and musty labyrinthine
underground tunnels and cellars and segue to a spectacular lunch that afternoon
at a futuristic architectural wonder and Michelin-starred winery restaurant
that is as modern as modern gets.
The City of Wine Marqués de Riscál in
Elciego, Spain designed by Frank Gehry includes the winery, a luxury hotel and
two award-winning restaurants.
The Compañía
Vinícola del Norte de España, better known stateside as CUNE, is
a fifth-generation winery in the heart of Rioja Alta that has fine-tuned the
balance between the old world and the new. Founded in 1879 by the two Real de
Azúa brothers, the winery is situated
at the old train station that connected historic Haro, the first town in Spain
to have electricity, to Bordeaux. The French connection revolutionized Spanish
winemaking at the end of the 19th century when Bordelais winemakers,
seeking new winegrowing terrain following the decimation of their vineyards by Phylloxera,
were welcomed by the Spanish with whom they shared new winemaking techniques
and expertise, especially regarding oak aging.
The CUNE winery includes a barrel room designed by
Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel that lacks traditional columns to support the roof, thus
providing an open design that allows for more efficient and easier barrel
movement and management.
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel’s cellar at CUNE winery in Haro, La
Rioja, Spain.
Today’s CUNE red wines include a Crianza, Reserva and Gran
Reserva, aged at least 3, 4 and 5 years total, respectively, which occurs both
in barrel and bottle according to the regulations for this DOCa (Denominación de Origen Calificada, Spain’s
highest quality designation). Red wines are exclusively made from Tempranillo,
Garnacha (red Grenache), Graciano and Mazuelo, also known as Carignan. The CUNE
rosé, called rosado in Spain,
is made from 100% Garnacha.
Monopole is CUNE’s white wine, made mostly with Viura
(Macabeo) and small amounts of floral Malvasia and Garnacha Blanca (white
Grenache). Produced since 1915, Monopole is Spain’s oldest white wine brand.
Its freshness and versatility with food have made Monopole a popular wine
choice at both our Cooking with Class wine pairing dinners and at the school’s
sister restaurant, Cork & Fork.
The Imperial label is a CUNE classic that is made only when the vintage is declared as exceptional. Made only as
Reserva and Gran Reserva wines and aged in new French and American oak,
Imperial is now more highly sought after than ever since the 2004 Gran Reserva
was named the 2013 Wine Spectator top wine of the year.
At a recent tasting at the winery, a group of us chipped in for
a bottle of the 2007 Imperial Gran Reserva. With its spicy black cherry fruit,
the wine demonstrated Tempranillo’s classic age-worthy and food-friendly
acidity with notes of tobacco and leather. At 13.5% alcohol, the wine showed
impeccable balance and was a special, savory treat to share with new friends.
The 2007 vintage was ranked as muy buena (very good) in La Rioja – we agreed.
Since 1994, CUNE also makes Real de Asúa, a tribute to the winery’s
founding brothers. Made from 100% hand-picked Tempranillo, Real de Asúa is fermented in small oak casks
and aged in French oak barrels.
Other CUNE labels are Viña Real, Pagos de Viña
Real and Viñedos del Contino,
all from Rioja Alavesa. The Vina Real winery near Logroño, inaugurated in 2004 by King of Spain Juan Carlos I, is
considered one of the most modern in Spain. In contrast, Viñedos del Contino is situated in a 14th-century
manor, the first château-style
design in La Rioja, along with some of the oldest indigenous Graciano vines.
When conditions are right for the development of Botrytis,
CUNE also produces a small amount of Corona, a semi-sweet wine.
Now that more people are familiar with CUNE and
Imperial, remember that in vintage years that are considered good but not exceptional, the grapes that would have gone into the Imperial Reserva and Gran
Reserva bottlings are used instead to make the CUNE Crianza, which we proudly serve at Cooking with Class and Cork & Fork. Those wines
might be some of the best values from La Rioja.
Stay tuned for more Spanish wine and travel tips coming
soon. We’re also cooking up some new surprises for you at our next Cooking with
Class food and wine pairing dinner on Sunday, May 25th at 6 pm – hope to see
you there.
