Garnacha | SweervyWine

Tasting note: Medium garnet, pronounced intensity on the nose, stewed and dried fruit, sweet spice and licorice aromas, hint of tobacco. Full bodied style, medium acidity, ripe soft tannins, on the palate notes of black cherry, plum, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla.

Very complex and very smooth, long finish; delicious wine – I absolutely love it. This Rioja Reserva (Tempranillo & Garnacha blend) retails at around £20 which in my view is very good value for the quality you get.

Food pairing: Rioja and lamb continues to be one of my favorites food and wine pairings. I paired this wine with lamb cutlets with garlic and rosemary (seared in the pan and finished off in the oven), roast potatoes and tenderstem broccoli.

Lamb Cutlets with Roast Potatoes & Tenderstem Broccoli

And by the way, this particular bottle together with a Viña Arana from the same winery, La Rioja Alta, was featured in my SweervyWine & The City series last summer… 😉

Haro at a glance — Source: Decanter 12/2014, p. 38

If you enjoy drinking Rioja you probably will have come across the CVNE wines. CVNE (pronounced “Coonay”) stands for Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España (The Northern Spanish Wine Company) and was established in the late 19th century in Haro, Rioja Alta, by the brothers Raimundo and Eusebio de Asua who were originally from Bilbao.

The history of CVNE is remarkable and their traditional yet innovative approach to winemaking has made the winery one of Rioja’s best known and loved ones in Spain.

Travel tip:

The historic Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel’s cellar of CUNE has been completed in early 20th century and is today the barrel cellar for the Imperial brand and a popular visitor attraction.
Haro is a great hub for wine tours of Rioja as many big names, e.g. Muga and La Rioja Alta are based here.

Continue reading A taste of CVNE Rioja →