Tempranillo
1.5L * 14% ABV * Rioja, Spain
Established in 1879, Bodegas C.V.N.E. is still today owned and run by the Real de Asua family. Sourced exclusively from calcerous clay estates, Vina del Olivo is their truest expression of the Contino terroir. The grapes are hand-harvested from the 700-year-old 'Olivo' vineyard and aged for 16 months in oak. The 2016 vintage produced a powerful wine with excellent aging potential. Drink now through to 2040.
98pts, James Suckling: 'This is sleek and racy with a polish and beauty that is incredible. Full-body, ultra-fine tannins that touch you at the beginning and take you down to a gorgeous depth of fruit. Super. A great single vineyard wine. Drink in 2022.' (January 2018)
95pts, Luis Gutirrez: 'The 2016 Via del Olivo has to be one of the finest recent vintages of this wine. It's powerful and elegant and has great balance and a lively palate, with focused flavours, great purity and integrated oak. It's very young and seems to have all the ingredients for a long development in bottle. It's tasty, long, very pure and is salty rather than sweet.' (June 2019)