WTN: The Three Amigos

[Jenise]

To go with a pimenton-crusted grilled pork chop and tomato rice, I chose to try this Priorat I picked up on Last Bottle, and then one thing led to another.

2016 Herencia Del Padri Priorat Grenache Blend
Earthy, with red bell pepper and shitake mushrooms among the various red fruits. Bordeaux-like savoriness and structure. Killer match for the food. Good future ahead--very happy to have these in the cellar. Going to throw one into a Rhone tasting next week--perfect ringer.

2009 R. López de Heredia Rioja Crianza Viña Cubillo Tempranillo Blend
Sandwiched between an earthy Priorat and a lush CVNE, the Cubillo's higher-than-average acidity made me wish we'd decanted this wine. Definitely a food wine. Then came:

2004 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Viña Real Reserva Tempranillo
Surprised it's been five years since we opened one of these--how have I kept my hands of them? Saturated violet and blueberry nose with an attractive bit of funk. Dense on the palate, long and pretty finish. 04 was sure a great vintage for CVNE, and it's not showing it's age. Am surprised (Bueker will tell me I shouldn't be) by the nearsightedness of the '19 drink-by date on CT--this has a solid future for those of us who appreciate mature wines. I'm betting on 2029.

[David M. Bueker]

You are correct. You should not be surprised.

At a tasting downtown, the 2008 CUNE Imperial Reserva was spot on.

Two of my most cherished tasting memories are of verticals in the late 90s/early 00s of CVNE's Imperial and Viña Real Reserva and GR from the 50s through the 80s. I also owned three celestial bottles of Imperial '66 drunk up by the early 00s. So I would expect the Real '04 to be drinking beautifully well into and even beyond the 2030s.

There were voices around a few years ago saying that from the mid-90s Imperial and Real were shadows of their former selves. These TNs contradict that.

As for CT I constantly notice that many contributors are quick to say "over the hill" about wines which IMO have yet to show their best. I make my own "drink by" dates and regularly pass them without noticing ill effects in the wine.

[Jenise]

Tim, that's a problem with formerly seriously ageable wines the world over. And CVNE might have gone through a slump, but I can vouch for vintages like 2004 and 2011 as being vintages with solid aging potential. Like you, I have had some glorious older vintages, 30 and 40 years of age. I still have '94 Imperials.

What surprises on CT in cases like this is that this is a widely distributed and well-understood wine. There are probably hundreds in cellars the world over, and those drink-by dates are not one person's opinion but an average of all the people who bothered to fill in that space. That's a lot of ignorance.