CVNE stands for Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España, or the Northern Spain Wine Company.

The CVNE is a family winery which was founded in 1879 in Haro, in one of Spain’s foremost wine-producing region La Rioja, and has at all times belonged to the direct descendants of the Real de Asua family.

The company began near the Haro railway station which dates back to 1879, close to the railway tracks which at that time were used to easily transport the wine in oak barrels and later bottles.

Its first exports started in 1880 to Europe and America and today CVNE is listed on the Spanish Stock Market. The current winery is composed of 22 buildings, which include the original 1879 premises, as well as the plant designed and built by the Eiffel architectural studio in 1909.

 

CVNE combines tradition, quality and innovation. In the late 19th century, it installed a Malvoisin pasteurizer to stabilize the wines and to avoid any possible damages to the bottles during the sometimes long journey from the winery to the consumer’s table. This was a revolutionary device, that placed CVNE at the pinnacle of innovation among world winemakers.

In 1940 the company pioneered the construction of the first concrete fermentation cellar ‘El Carmen‘ in Spain and in the 80’s CVNE built ‘El Pilar‘, a gravity-driven winemaking facility inspired in traditional methods. This meant that the winery could, without pumps and hoses, systematically sort and process six million kilos of grapes picked on each harvest.

In 2005, CVNE refurbished the old winery buildings dating back to the 19th century, and created an educational area called ‘La Aldea del Vino’, or The Wine Village, in which one of the very few remaining examples of Gustav Eiffel’s engineering techniques to avoid using pillars in wide buildings can be seen.

The 545 hectares of vineyards that CVNE owns account for 50% of the company’s production, and are distributed between the two sub-regions of Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa, an area under the influence of the Atlantic and Mediterranean climates.

CVNE covers four bodegas: Imperial, Viña Real, CVNE and Contino

Imperial

Imperial is one of the renowned references in the entire history of Spanish winemaking. This true classic comes from Rioja Alta vineyards, which are known for producing full-bodied wines with a medium alcohol content and a high acidity level. First bottled in the 1920’s, Imperial still follows a fully traditional wine-making process subject to the strictest quality controls and is aged in French oak vats in the Eiffel Cellar which dates back to 1909.
Wines: Imperial Reserva, Imperial Gran Reserva and Real de Asúa

Note: The Imperial Gran Reserva 2004 is the first and, until now, only Spanish wine to be named Wine of the Year by American publication Wine Spectator and has consistently earned high ratings from the world’s leading wine specialists.

Address: Barrio de la Estacion S/N 26200 Haro, La Rioja Tel 00 34 941 304 800

In Vinlagret’s cellar:

CVNE IMPERIAL GRAN RESERVA 2012

Fact sheet
Producer: CVNE
Region: Rioja
Varietal: Mazuela, Graciano, Tempranillo
Vintage: 2009
Format: 0,75L
Alcohol content: 13,5%
Temperature: 16°C

“The 2012 Cune Gran Reserva, a blend of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo, matured in barrel for two years and was kept in bottle for three years before it was released. It had a lot of freshness, with notes of red fruit and an iron-like touch, reminiscent of beef blood and meat, austere and serious. The oak is pretty much in the background. The palate is sleek and polished, with fine tannins and a soft mouthfeel. Very good balance and drinkability. ” Robert Parker 91+ Points 

“Gorgeous aromas to this wine with flowers, truffles and subtle stones. Medium to full body, fine and silky tannins and a fresh, clean and tight style. One for early drinking. Enjoy now.” James Suckling 93 Points

 

Viña Real

CVNE launched the Viña Real brand in the 1920’s becoming one of the pioneering wineries in making crianza wines in oak barrels in this area. A careful balance between tradition and modernity has defined the form and content of Viña Real. Its building is an iconic 2004 design constructed with red cedar in the form of a fermenting vat that succeeds in blending into the Rioja mountain landscape with natural light, caves to store the wine and leading-edge technology – with the use of gravity; the installation of the first vertical hopper in Spain.

From the mountains of the Sierra de Cantabria the vineyards extend down the slope towards the Ebro river basin. The mountains protect this Rioja Alavesa subregion, where the Atlantic climate is combined with calcareous and clay-based soils.

Wines: Viña Real Crianza, Viña Real Reserva, Viña Real Gran Reserva and Pagos de Viña Real

Address: Ctra Logrono-Laguardia Km 4,8 01300 Laguardia, Alava Tel 00 34 945 625 255

 

CVNE

The history of the CVNE company begins in the winery located in Haro in the neighborhood of the railway station “barrio de la estacion “ which dates back to 1879. The winery is composed of 22 buildings, which include the original 1879 premises, as well as the plant designed and built by the Eiffel architectural studio in 1909. This winery combines tradition, quality and innovation.

Wines: Cune Crianza, Cune Reserva, Cune Gran Reserva and Cune Rose

Address: Barrio de la Estacion S/N, 26200 Haro, La Rioja Tel 00 34 941 304 80

 

Contino

Contino, the first Rioja château, was founded in 1973 by CVNE and the owners of the 62-hectare property located in the Rioja Alavesa. The history of the property dates back to the 16th century, and is reflected in its name. The contino was the officer in charge of a guard corps of one hundred soldiers who had protected the royal family continuously – de contino in Spanish – since the times of the Catholic Monarchs. According to the tradition, Saint Gregory, the patron saint of vineyards, passed through the lands of this same Rioja property, hence the use of his figure in the winery’s logo, and the use of his name for some of the plots now planted with vines.

The wine produced on this property, fruity and elegant, is heir to the best Rioja tradition. It is made with an individualised grape harvesting system in which only grapes from the same vineyards that surround the old manor house are used. The perfect combination of soils, Atlantic-Mediterranean climate and refined technique have made Contino, more than 30 years after the first vintage, a reference product both in and outside Spain.

At Viñedos del Contino tradition and innovation live together in perfect harmony with a modern vinification cellar with a selection table and individual limited capacity fermentation tanks. The production of each of the estate’s lots is placed in individual limited capacity fermentation tanks and, depending on the characteristics of the grapes, fermentation takes place in one way or another. 16th Century cellars are used for the ageing of the wine, under the best temperatures and humidity.

Wines: Contino Reserva, Contino Gran Reserva, Contino Graciano and Contino Garnacha

Address: Finca San Rafael 01321 Lasena, Alava Tel 00 34 945 600 201

www.cvne.com