The Compania Vinicola del Norte de Espana was originally set up in 1879 in the village of Haro by the Real de Asua family. Even today, the company is still owned by the direct descendents of the original owners. The winery is in the DO Rioja and they grow the traditional varieties of the region: Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano.
The company still uses the original winery, located in the village of Haro. They expanded and added buildings to the first winery but most of the buildings date back to the 19th century. They are still in use today for their more prestigious wines. In 1972 they established the Vinedos de Contino for their top end wines and in 2004, they inaugurated a new winery, the Vina Real.
Cune 2009 Crianza is one of their entry level wines and is a handy little wine. There is an amusing story about how this wine got its name. Originally, it was called CVNE, after the initials of the company but due to a misspelling error, it was labeled Cune and the rest, as they say, is history. The company decided to stay with that name and it’s been the same every since.
The 2009 has a sweet vanilla nose with loads of ripe red fruits and light-to-medium body on the palate. There is nicely integrated toast with a bit of oak hanging around the background. A very moreish wine with and lots of raspberry flavours. It’s a very easy Rioja to drink, light and juicy and a good introduction to the region.
The Cune is widely available in the UK.
